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Rake Placement in Bunker - Reader - I pulled up a FC

Jacko_G

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I much prefer the take to be left half in, half out of the bunker. When it's been wet and the rake is fully in the bunker the handle is usually covered in wet sand which gets on my hand and glove, half in half out generally stops this as only the end of the rake sits touching sand

Which to me sums up the whole argument. There is no right or wrong way. Your preference is what you state, I prefer the rake to be left outside the bunker and the OP is clearly convinced his way is "correct".
 

chrisd

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Which to me sums up the whole argument. There is no right or wrong way. Your preference is what you state, I prefer the rake to be left outside the bunker and the OP is clearly convinced his way is "correct".

Actually I am with you and prefer the rake completely outside the bunker and quite like the clubs who have holders where the rake stands upright as there's much less chance of hitting them
 

upsidedown

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Actually I am with you and prefer the rake completely outside the bunker and quite like the clubs who have holders where the rake stands upright as there's much less chance of hitting them
Having had this discussion last year we now have stands for them on the side of the bunker least likely to interfere with play , but some members insist on moving the stands and/or leaving the rakes in the bunkers .
As for the GK's we've instructed them to mow up to the stand then move them into the freshly mown area thus reducing lost mowing time .
 

Orikoru

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I much prefer the take to be left half in, half out of the bunker. When it's been wet and the rake is fully in the bunker the handle is usually covered in wet sand which gets on my hand and glove, half in half out generally stops this as only the end of the rake sits touching sand
This is what I do. On the far side of the bunker (so it doesn't collect any golf balls rolling in the front), stand it up against the edge with the rake head in the sand, handle sticking out.
 

HomerJSimpson

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Only you two know but whats written could come over as sarcastic/critical (which I don't believe was your intent, as you say 'in as friendly way as I could') Even so he would've been a bit precious taking the huff just for that but you might want to have a couple of variations in your choice of words in case you come up against him again

Right to speak up? sure you were
Could it have been friendlier? sure it could
He was too precious? more than likely
I was going to comment on this as well. The piece in italics doesn't read very well and I can easily see how the person could see the conversation as condescending if delivered in this manner and how it could easily cause offence/embarrassment even though it was clearly well meant.

If a club has specific rules then as a member you need to abide by those. If not, there are R&A guidelines as outlined already and it seems logical to follow these. However I see it week in week out at my club (and others when we play matches) where the bunker is raked (some better than others but the quality of raking is a whole different can of worms) and the rake simply put in the side of a bunker with no thought given for the position and potential impact on other players. I do think though, there should be more done by more clubs to try and get a unified position for rakes but you know full well its a losing battle as many members seem to think they're above being told how to behave on the course
 

rksquire

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I hit a rake (left outside the bunker) shaft 2 weeks ago and the ball shot off to the right. Of course I was well right of the green to be begin with so it's really just bad luck. I actually prefer the rake left out (aligned in the direction of play) which seems to be a minority view - my thinking is coming to rest against the rake outside the bunker, it's much easier to remove the rake without the ball moving; inside the bunker this is harder - most of our bunkers are cupped / saucer shaped so rolling in means rolling down or hitting the furthest face means rolling down - a rake would stop both; centrally placed rakes would mean throwing it in. But as I said I'm in a minority, my PPs say it should be placed in the bunker and they're older & wiser than me.
 

robinthehood

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I hit a rake (left outside the bunker) shaft 2 weeks ago and the ball shot off to the right. Of course I was well right of the green to be begin with so it's really just bad luck. I actually prefer the rake left out (aligned in the direction of play) which seems to be a minority view - my thinking is coming to rest against the rake outside the bunker, it's much easier to remove the rake without the ball moving; inside the bunker this is harder - most of our bunkers are cupped / saucer shaped so rolling in means rolling down or hitting the furthest face means rolling down - a rake would stop both; centrally placed rakes would mean throwing it in. But as I said I'm in a minority, my PPs say it should be placed in the bunker and they're older & wiser than me.
What does it matter if the ball moves when you move the rake ?
 

rksquire

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What does it matter if the ball moves when you move the rake ?

Probably my ignorance of the rules to be honest - I thought outside the bunker, if the ball moved it could be replaced without penalty; inside (if moving the rake the ball roles closer to the hole), if it was on the slope it needs to be placed where it come to rest - ie on the slope into the bunker or NPR within the bunker no closer to the hole - couldn't do this on a downward slope so would have to incur a stroke / distance penalty?
 

robinthehood

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Probably my ignorance of the rules to be honest - I thought outside the bunker, if the ball moved it could be replaced without penalty; inside (if moving the rake the ball roles closer to the hole), if it was on the slope it needs to be placed where it come to rest - ie on the slope into the bunker or NPR within the bunker no closer to the hole - couldn't do this on a downward slope so would have to incur a stroke / distance penalty?
Nah no pen, but it is a pain in the arse

Ah you mean if there is no where to put it no nearer the hole without it moving ?
Yeah tough luck I suppose. All the more reason to leave it outside
 
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TheJezster

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Seems to be a lot of divided opinion. I have no opinion on a rake placement so cant really comment other than to say the rake will be where it was last left. If its not next to where I went in I might be slightly irked, but I'll just throw it in after using it nearby where I used it. I think I pretty much just put the head in, and leave the end out.

Would I have moved the rake if you'd asked me? Probably, but the way you said it, although friendly, I would have laughed off and said something like "yea, he or she will have a bit of trouble getting out" and walked on. If you had asked me to move it, I probably would have.

Seems every course and every member has a different idea on how to leave a rake, so you're pretty much dammed if you do, dammed if you don't!
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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might not make much difference in a shallow parkland bunker, but makes a big difference in a deep reveted pot bunker

...and we are rebuilding every bunker on the course with revetted faces. Previously our bunkers were parkland-style bunkers and as you say rake placement was not quite so critical - but when your ball can roll into a bunker and drop almost straight down at least 12" then now it really does matter.
 

HomerJSimpson

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I know there was a "fad" a few years ago and a lot of courses were putting little stands on their rakes so unless the ball hit the head or very top there as a chance it would roll underneath either in the bunker or outside depending on where it was left. I don't seem to see that anymore. Does/did it make any difference?
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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How do you get it to the centre of a large bunker without walking into and out of it.
If it is thrown in, it could cause a large rut in the middle worse than an unraked footprint.

Incidentally, some years ago my club ruled that all rakes be left out, 1 rake length from the the bunker. There were no major objections, just a gradual ignoring the rule (mainly the 1 rake length). The effect was everyone did their own thing.
A new committee have ruled they should now be in. Result with half a season gone - everyone does their own thing.

Our bunkers are not wide front to back - and so it is quite easy to put the rake into the centre of the bunker without having to hurl it with any great force and so create a large rut. Besides - as the ball would at worse by against the rake it wouldn't be that affected by any surface disturbance of the sand caused by the rake being thrown in.
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Only you two know but whats written could come over as sarcastic/critical (which I don't believe was your intent, as you say 'in as friendly way as I could') Even so he would've been a bit precious taking the huff just for that but you might want to have a couple of variations in your choice of words in case you come up against him again

Right to speak up? sure you were
Could it have been friendlier? sure it could
He was too precious? more than likely

Yes I know what you say - but I did not want to be telling my FC to move the rake into the correct position - he knows where he should have put it and so would know exactly why I was saying what I was saying (with a smile on my face :) )
 

SwingsitlikeHogan

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Seems to be a lot of divided opinion. I have no opinion on a rake placement so cant really comment other than to say the rake will be where it was last left. If its not next to where I went in I might be slightly irked, but I'll just throw it in after using it nearby where I used it. I think I pretty much just put the head in, and leave the end out.

Would I have moved the rake if you'd asked me? Probably, but the way you said it, although friendly, I would have laughed off and said something like "yea, he or she will have a bit of trouble getting out" and walked on. If you had asked me to move it, I probably would have.

Seems every course and every member has a different idea on how to leave a rake, so you're pretty much dammed if you do, dammed if you don't!

I would have said something like 'not funny' and would have gone and moved it myself. Depending upon what you might have said to me and how you said it, I just might even have reported the incident. Where the rake had been placed could have cost a following player 2 shots (if he had chosen the new bunker drop option). We were playing in the club's most prestigious open competition and if that player had been a visitor (or indeed a member) up there with a chance of coming in the frame he could very rightly have been very miffed.
 

Wolf

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and people still wonder why more people aren't playing the game!!
Completely agree to be honest especially reading back through varying replies..

Got to admit if someone reported me to the committee for the misplacement of a rake, I'd think they were a complete knob.

It's just a game it isn't the end of the world if it's not in the exact spot
 

Orikoru

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Completely agree to be honest especially reading back through varying replies..

Got to admit if someone reported me to the committee for the misplacement of a rake, I'd think they were a complete knob.

It's just a game it isn't the end of the world if it's not in the exact spot
Better yet, maybe we should all do each other a favour and lay them outside the bunkers across the front to stop people rolling in? :D
 

HomerJSimpson

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Got to admit if someone reported me to the committee for the misplacement of a rake, I'd think they were a complete knob.
I think you are being way too polite. I'd be causing merry hell. It's not the end of the world and lets be honest, irrespective of the OP saying it was their big event of the year, how many times a season do we actually hit a rake or find the rake impeding the ball in a bunker? I'd rather worry about repairing pitch marks, actually raking bunkers and pace of play
 
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