There are things we’re conditioned not to do in a bunker. Did you know you can ground your club in a bunker, for example, as long as it doesn’t improve conditions affecting the stroke or is for the purpose of deliberately testing the sand?
You can lean on a club in the sand too in the same circumstances, but when we descend into a bunker, many of us are still wary about doing anything that causes rules bother.
Old habits die hard, I suppose.
So it’s no surprise that when it comes to raking a bunker, we are similarly cautious. Can you rake a bunker when your ball is still in it, for instance? What’s going to get you into trouble?
Let’s check out these rake-a-bunker rules…
When can you rake a bunker?
You can’t deliberately touch sand in a bunker with your club, your hand, a rake, or another object to test the condition of the sand. You can’t touch sand right in front of, or right behind your ball, except in some very limited circumstances like removing a loose impediment or movable obstructions.
These restrictions are written down in Rule 12.2b (1) and they won’t be a surprise to any of you. But scroll down to Rule 12.2b (2) and there are occasions when touching sand won’t see you tacking on a two-shot penalty to your score, or losing a hole if you’re playing match play.
One of these, you might be surprised to learn, is striking the sand in anger. But another, much more pertinent to this discussion, is “smoothing the bunker to care for the course”.
As long as you’re not touching the sand to improve conditions affecting the stroke, and those are the lie of the ball, area of intended stance and swing, line of play, and the relief area if you’re dropping a ball, then you can rake away.
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Where it is possible to get unstuck is over the regulations on line of play. Are we talking a few feet, or 20 yards? When does it become a potential advantage?
A couple of clarifications to Rule 8.1a helps to set some boundaries. An example that would be likely to create a potential advantage includes a ball lying in a green side bunker and “the player smooths footprints in front of the ball on the line of play before playing a short shot intended to be played over the smoothed area”.
And examples that would be unlikely to create a potential advantage include a 150-yard approach from the general area and a player smooths a footprint in a bunker on their line or play, or a ball that lies “in the middle of a long, shallow-faced fairway bunker, and the player smooths footprints several yards in front of the ball and on their line of play before playing a long shot over the smoothed area”.
Got a question for our expert?
Despite the changes to the Rules of Golf in 2019 and 2023, there are still some that leave us scratching our heads. I’ll try to help by featuring the best of your queries in this column.
What do you think of these rake a bunker rules? Let me know by leaving a comment below, email me at s.carroll@nationalclubgolfer.com or get in touch on X.
NOW READ: What can (and can’t) you do if your ball is in a bunker?
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