There are some golf etiquette questions that just seem eternal. Are you dress code or casual on the course? Loyal to the honour or playing ready golf? And are you in or out when it comes to the humble bunker rake?
Golf clubs put up signs, leave stickers on said rakes, and send out emails telling their members how they want it done.
The R&A and USGA even have their own recommendations about what to do in the Official Guide to the Rules of Golf.
We pulled together two of our writers, Max McVittie and Steve Carroll, to get their views. So whose side of the bunker rake debate are you on?
‘It helps prevent every golfer’s nightmare of slow play. I’m all for it’
Personally, I see no problem with leaving the rakes inside the bunkers, writes Max McVittie.
My home course, I grew up playing on, allowed it, so that’s the way I’ve always known it. I’d always leave the head of the rake inside the bunker with the handle resting on the lip.
This way I believe it helps to prevent every golfer’s nightmare of slow play. There’s no getting out and walking around the bunker to get the rake, the rake is always right there next to you. The round maintains its flow and everyone’s happy.
Additionally, it massively lowers the chances of the rake lodging the ball and interfering with its roll out.
So, there’s no gain or misfortune for the golfer. If your ball was to, by chance, hit the neck of the rake then that’s all part of the hazard of a bunker.
If courses were to have the whole rake in the middle of the bunker, I think that would be fine too. Balls that land in the sides of the bunker won’t be affected and will still be allowed to roll down into the middle. The bunker will remain a fair challenge for all.
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It’s a debate that really comes down to personal preference, but for effectiveness and speed, I’m all for the rake being left in the bunker.
‘Golfers don’t treat the sand with respect – and it’s a pipedream to suggest they’ll change. That’s why I’m OUT’
I’m out. You will never convince me that a bunker rake’s proper place is in the sand, writes Steve Carroll.
Hear me out. If golfers treated said sand with any sort of respect I might have a different view. But they don’t and it’s a pipedream to suggest they will change their ways anytime soon.
If we’re playing golf in 1,000 years, clubs will still be pleading with players to leave bunkers in a decent condition. And they’ll still ignore it.
This is why it’s a problem. Golfers don’t place their rake in the sand, they chuck it back in. Even though this makes a right mess of the bunker they’ve just pretended to rake!
Hit one into the sand after that and you can end up in the craters left by the impact. That’s if they’ve even bothered to throw them somewhere towards the middle of the trap.
It’s not exactly a javelin but most can’t even get it that far. So it just sits in the sand inside the lip. Your ball creeps in and then you’ve got an impossible shot. So leave it out, I say. We’ll all be the better for it.
Now have your say on the bunker rake
Where do you leave a bunker rake and how does your club treat the issue? Let us know by leaving a comment on X.
