Quote:
Originally Posted by
Fourputt 
The USGA recommends that they be left OUT of the bunker, and laid down parallel to the normal line of play for the hole to minimize the potential impact they might have on play. When I worked as a rules official for the Colorado Golf Association, one of our pre-round tasks was to tour the course. We watched for any areas which still might need to be marked as GUR, we verified that the holes were cut in the proper locations and that none were in unfair positions, and we inspected all bunkers, raking if necessary and locating the rakes per USGA recommendation, regardless of course policy (we had that right as the committee in charge of the competition).
If the course refuses to follow this recommendation, then the USGA says that the rakes should be placed in the bottom of the bunker, not around the edges where they would have a heavier impact on play. Here is a scenario for you to contemplate:
The rake is laid in the bunker, 5" from the lip nearest the tee. A player in a competition plays his shot and the ball comes to rest in the bunker against the rake. The bunker is well groomed so there is a minimum 3" vertical lip cut all the way around it. The rake is properly removed as a movable obstruction, and if the ball moved is it replaced with no penalty. The ball now lies just 4" from that lip, with the lip making a normal stroke unreasonable (if not impossible). Had the rake not been in the bunker, or if it was laid in the bottom of the bunker, the ball would have rolled to the bottom, or at least well past the bunker lip. Now the player has essentially been penalized for absolutely no good reason. He is going to have to play a stroke out sideways, and depending on which side of the fairway he is on, he may even have to play away from the fairway.
Now change up the scenario slightly and the rake is still in the same position but the sand has a significant slope leading into the bunker, so that when the rake is removed, the ball will not remain in place. There is no spot in the bunker which is not closer to the hole where the ball will remain at rest when placed. The player has no choice but to drop outside of the bunker under penalty of one stroke. Had the rake not been in that position, the ball would have rolled to the bottom of the slope.
In both of these scenarios, it's easy to see that improper placement of the rake was both unfair and inequitable to the player involved. While the rules don't always care about fairness, they are always concerned with equity. Properly locating the rakes is crucial in a competition. In casual play, you do what you think best, and what your conscience or your buddy tells you to, but in competition you are stuck between a rake and a hard place - no choice.
One other note - although placing the rakes in the bottom of the bunker may eliminate most of the above issues, it still may impact play in 2 other ways.
1) It may stop a ball which might otherwise have run through the bunker, and
2) It will potentially slow down the process of getting the rake and raking out the additional footprints made by having to go and fetch it from a different part of the bunker than your ball lies in.
So leave the rakes out when possible, and if not place them well away from the edges.
Here is what the USGA actually has to say about it officially"
Q.Should rakes be placed in or outside bunkers?
A.There is not a perfect answer for the position of rakes, but on balance it is felt there is less likelihood of an advantage or disadvantage to the player if rakes are placed outside bunkers.
It may be argued that there is more likelihood of a ball being deflected into or kept out of a bunker if the rake is placed outside the bunker. It could also be argued that if the rake is in the bunker it is most unlikely that the ball will be deflected out of the bunker.
However, in practice, players who leave rakes in bunkers frequently leave them at the side which tends to stop a ball rolling into the flat part of the bunker, resulting in a much more difficult shot than would otherwise have been the case. This is most prevalent at a course where the bunkers are small. When the ball comes to rest on or against a rake in the bunker and the player must proceed under Rule 24-1, it may not be possible to replace the ball on the same spot or find a spot in the bunker which is not nearer the hole - see Decision 20-3d/2.
If rakes are left in the middle of the bunker the only way to position them is to throw them into the bunker and this causes damage to the surface. Also, if a rake is in the middle of a large bunker it is either not used or the player is obliged to rake a large area of the bunker resulting in unnecessary delay.
Therefore, after considering all these aspects, it is recommended that rakes should be left outside bunkers in areas where they are least likely to affect the movement of the ball.
Ultimately, it is a matter for the Committee to decide where it wishes rakes to be placed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think the problem addressed in Decision 20-3d/3 is overblown and easily dealt with. Just do not put the rake on the downslope, facing the green. That is what causes the problem. If the rake is placed on the upslope, facing the green, then the ball will not roll closer to the hole.
Also, the USGA does NOT like the middle of the bunker option because it requires tossing the rake there which causes the likelihood of damage to the surface and kind of contradicts the whole point of raking, since it can cause the same kinds of bad lies as footprints.
That said, I agree with the USGA that outside the bunker, a step or two away, is the best option and the least likely to cause a problem in equity or rules. The REAL problem is getting players to USE the rakes, IMO.
