[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Diane

Ok - my question may be a bit silly, but here it is. I landed on the edge of a sand trap today, but in what I can only call a divot that was filled with sand. So does that make it part of the trap by default or was it still rough? I was unsure whether I could ground my club or not.

Here is one decision that might help to clarify the issue:

13/1 Sand Spilling Over Margin of Bunker

Q. If sand spills over the margin of a bunker, is the sand part of the bunker?

A. No.

And a definition for Bulls9999 (note the second paragraph) (the part I put in bold might also apply to Diane's dilemma):

Bunker
A "bunker" is a hazard consisting of a prepared area of ground, often a hollow, from which turf or soil has been removed and replaced with sand or the like.

Grass-covered ground bordering or within a bunker, including a stacked turf face (whether grass-covered or earthen), is not part of the bunker. A wall or lip of the bunker not covered with grass is part of the bunker. The margin of a bunker extends vertically downwards, but not upwards.

A ball is in a bunker when it lies in or any part of it touches the bunker.