Rules Review
Rules of Golf Review: My ball is up against a bunker rake. Where do I play my next shot from?
Ross Kinnaird
The age-old debate about the placement of bunker rakes rages on. Some courses insist they stay in the bunker so they don't deflect a shot from entering the sand. Other courses want them outside the bunker so a ball that lands in the sand isn't interfered with by the rake.
What happens, though, when you play a course with a specific bunker-rake preference—one that is outlined in bold writing right there on the rake handles—and someone doesn't comply? One scenario: Your ball is tracking for a bunker and the rake, mistakenly laid on the bank, stops the ball. Should the next shot be played from the bank or the bunker?
Rule 15.2a covers this topic as a bunker rake is considered a movable obstruction. Any obstruction that can be moved with reasonable effort and does not damage the course (think artificial objects such as garbage cans, broken tees, etc.) is fair game to be cleared out of your way. It doesn't matter that some other golfer left the rake outside the bunker. Your ball should be played from the spot where it came to rest.
Now, if for some reason the ball then rolls into the bunker after removing the rake, you should replace it. What happens if it won't stay in the spot where the rake stopped it? Rule 14.2e says the following:
If the player tries to replace a ball but it does not stay on its original spot, the player must try a second time. If the ball again does not stay on that spot, the player must replace the ball by placing it on the nearest spot where the ball will stay at rest, but with these limits depending on where the original spot is located. The spot must not be nearer the hole and it must be in the general area (in this case, the fairway or rough).
If this scenario were flipped and the ball at rest was against a rake in a bunker, the replacement of the ball after it moved would have to be in the bunker.