Brooks Koepka has never been someone who beats around the bush, and his latest take on something that happens regularly on the PGA Tour was unsurprisingly uncompromising.

Koepka returned to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf in January of this year. He has noticed a big change since he left way back in 2022, and he has now spoken about Wyndham Clark as an example of how certain players come dangerously close to crossing the line when it comes to breaking rules on the golf course.

Clark has been one of the players who has reached another level since Koepka left to join LIV Golf four-and-a-half years ago. The 32-year-old American has won six times on the PGA Tour during that timeframe, including his two US Open triumphs.

However, it’s fair to say that the two-time major champion has also been one of the more controversial characters on the PGA Tour during that period. Wyndham Clark has always played the role of the villain on the PGA Tour. Some of his behavior has been unacceptable, including when he damaged the lockers at Oakmont during the US Open in 2025.

He has also received plenty of criticism for some of his actions on the course, including his use of the practice known as ‘trenching’ on the greens.

Now Koepka has highlighted just how much of a problem ‘trenching’ has become in the professional game. The nine-time PGA Tour winner also suggested that players improving their lies in the rough is an issue which needs addressing.

Brooks Koepka backs rule change when asked about what Wyndham Clark does

The PGA Tour star has just taken part in an interview on Dan Rapaport’s YouTube channel, where he discussed numerous topics. At one point, the conversation turned to players tapping down spike marks along their line from their ball to the hole.

Rapaport asked Koepka if ‘trenching’ is a real thing, while demonstrating how Wyndham Clark does it on a regular basis.

“Yeah, that’s not good,“ the five-time major winner replied.

“It gets tough. I actually said to one of the guys this year, it might have been JT or somebody, but it’s interesting now, I’ve noticed that I’m back on tour that a lot of guys use Aimpoint, and come Sunday in the afternoon, how dried out and firm it is from three-feet around the hole. I don’t know if it’s because guys are doing Aimpoint more. The caddies are in there. There’s a lot you go this way, and then you spin and do the other way. It gets very chewed up around the hole, and I don’t know if that’s just because I’m back playing with more guys, more people doing Aimpoint.

Koepka was then asked about players pushing down the grass behind their ball with their club when they are in the rough.

“I might be over there hitting my shot, but you’re over here in the left rough, and guys definitely do it,“ the 36-year-old replied.

“It’s just, how are you gonna prove it? Yeah, if it’s blatantly obvious, yeah I’ll say something, but it’s hard to tell.

“Like, you’re getting in the rough, and guys, there was one I saw this year that was really bad. I’m not going to name a player, but it was pretty bad. You see the original lie, then you see the takeaway, and you can see the whole ball. He did it. It was a chip. I saw it, which is really bad.“

For clarity, Wyndham Clark is not the only player who tramples down the grass behind his ball with his club in the rough.

Numerous golfers do it.

The issue is that implementing some kind of rule to combat a practice that has become so common in the professional game would be so difficult to police.

What is trenching in golf?

Next time you watch professional golf on your televisions, I guarantee you will see multiple players ‘trenching’.

It is a fairly new phenomenon that has come into the game since tapping down spike marks became legal.

When players are faced with short putts, let’s say 3-4 feet for example, they begin forcefully tapping down spike marks all the way from their ball to the hole.

This creates a slight depression in the ground on the player’s line which then acts as a funnel from their ball to the hole.

‘It happens far too often in professional golf and, as Brooks Koepka said, the practice seems to have become much more prevalent since players began using AimPoint.

The PGA Tour need to crack down on trenching very soon. They could ban tapping down spike marks again or specify that players simply cannot perform the process directly from their ball all the way to the hole.

Whether the powers that be will ever implement a change remains to be seen, though. As mentioned earlier, it will be incredibly difficult to police and, for that reason, it is highly likely that nothing will ever be done.