What are your options in a bunker?
Your ball has found its way into a sandy nightmare, so what are the dos and don’ts when playing your ball out of a trap? Let our Rules of Golf expert help you on your way
A doddle for the pros, it’s the situation that still gives plenty of handicappers nightmares. Yes, you’ve found your ball in a bunker.
If it’s not hard enough extricating yourself from the sandy mess, you also have to remember the rules that govern what you can do when you’re within the confines of the bunker. So let’s get into it, and next time all you’ll have to worry about is getting it out.
What is a bunker?
Let’s start simple. A bunker, according to the definitions in the Rules of Golf, is a “specially prepared area of sand, which is often a hollow from which turf or soil was removed”.
When is my golf ball in a bunker?
It is, says Rule 12.1, when any part touches sand on the ground inside of the edge of the bunker or, when it’s inside the edge of the bunker and rests “on ground where sand would normally be”.
A ball is also in a bunker when any part of it is “in, or on, a loose impediment, movable obstruction, abnormal course condition or integral object that touches sand in the bunker or is on ground where sand would normally be”.
All that is quite important to remember because it means, for example, that if your ball is on a lip, wall or face of a bunker, it’s not in a bunker.
Soil, or “any growing or attached natural object inside the edge of a prepared area”, is also not part of a bunker.
Neither is sand that has spilled over, or is outside the edge of that prepared area, nor all other areas of sand on the course that are not inside the edge of such a prepared area (unless defined as such by a committee).
Can I remove loose impediments in a bunker?
Yes, you can. But, just as in the general area, if the ball moves while you are doing it you’re going to get a one shot penalty. There’s an exception, though, if you were searching for the ball.
Can I touch the sand while my ball is in a bunker?
Depends. There are a number of things you can do in the sand that won’t see you fall foul of the rules. These include:
- Digging in with the feet to take a stance
- Smoothing the bunker to care for the course
- Placing clubs, equipment or other objects in the bunker – whether by setting or throwing them down
- Leaning on a club to rest, stay balanced or prevent a fall
- Striking the sand in frustration or anger
Don’t deliberately do it, though, whether that’s with a hand, club, rake or another object if it is to test the condition of the sand.
Don’t touch the sand with a club either in the area right behind, or right in front of, your ball (except in removing a movable obstruction or loose impediment or as allowed when fairly searching for it).
And don’t do it if you’re making a practice swing or when taking your backswing for a shot.
What I think my ball is in a bunker but I can’t see it?
Ball buried in the bunker? You can take “reasonable actions” to try and find and identify your ball and that includes moving sand.
But, under Rule 7.1b, if sand affecting the lie of a ball is moved while you’re doing that, you must recreate the original lie in the sand.
This rule allows you to “leave a small part of the ball visible if the ball had been covered by sand”.
If you play without doing this, you’re going to be penalised two shots.
What if my ball is unplayable in a bunker?
You reach the bunker and it’s bad news – there’s no way you call play the ball.
Rule 19, unplayable ball, is here to help and you’ve got four options. The first three carry one penalty stroke and allow you to either take stroke-and-distance relief, take back-on-the-line relief and drop it in the bunker, or take lateral relief of two club lengths in the bunker.
For an extra shot, so two penalty strokes in total, you can take back-on-the-line relief outside the bunker.
Base it on a reference line going straight back from the hole through the spot of the original ball in the bunker and drop in a one-club relief area that’s no nearer the hole.
Forgotten how you’re supposed to drop the ball? This will help.
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 about these ball in a bunker rules? Let me know by leaving a comment on X.
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; Caley 01T irons 4-PW; TaylorMade Hi-Toe wedges, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
