Is there a penalty for not raking a bunker?

[bones75]

or is it only bad etiquette?

If you can point me to an older post that'd be great too, as I tried looking.

[iacas]

What do you think having looked in the Rules?

[Piz]

The penalty for not raking a bunker is being the sort of person who doesn't rake bunkers.

[bones75]

@iacas I confess I didn't do a great deal of sleuthing, but I didn't find anything after a few google searches that covered it. I must be missing something...

Edited December 8, 2019 by bones75

[iacas]

Look at the actual Rules online. Tell me if you find a penalty.

[dagolfer18]

Pretty sure there’s no penalty, but it’s just poor etiquette.

[bones75]

@iacas I've searched for "rake" and "raking" and didn't see any relevant hits. So it looks like there isn't a rule, but is there another term I should be searching for? If you're suggesting I just read the whole thing top to bottom, I kinda didn't want to, that's why I posted the question 🙂

[iacas]

At least read Rule 12.

[Asheville]

25 minutes ago, bones75 said:

or is it only bad etiquette?

If you can point me to an older post that'd be great too, as I tried looking.

You'll have a tough time finding a Rule which covers your dilemma. You, however, will find penalties for raking a bunker when you shouldn't. See Rule 8.

https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/rules-of-golf/rules-and-interpretations.html#!ruletype=fr&section=rule&rulenum=8

[Rulesman]

17 hours ago, bones75 said:

@iacas I've searched for "rake" and "raking" and didn't see any relevant hits. So it looks like there isn't a rule, but is there another term I should be searching for? If you're suggesting I just read the whole thing top to bottom, I kinda didn't want to, that's why I posted the question 🙂

Did you search for "bunker"?

[iacas]

17 hours ago, iacas said:

At least read Rule 12.

13 minutes ago, Rulesman said:

Did you search for "bunker"?

Seriously. 🙂

Bones, I'm trying to help you to help yourself.

[dennyjones]

Rule 12 - Bunkers

[bones75]

I get it!  and this isn't even my first time asking a stupid question in TST. I write things and hit the "post" button a little too quickly. Another reminder I need to stop doing this isn't a bad thing.

So after reading rule 12, I understand there is no penalty. If there's anything elsewhere, or if I ever need complete certainty, I will assuredly give it a thorough read myself. 

Related and genesis of my question: I just played in a big church tourney. It was at a private country club, and they made it part of the "tournament rules" to rake bunkers, fill seed mixture into divots, and fix all ball marks. I didn't ask the organizers if these "rules" were officially deemed as the tournament's "Code of Conduct" (which I just read/learned about now) but if so, I now understand that the "committee" could penalize or DQ people. At the time, i didn't know if this was standard or unusual practice, or something the church organizer did for whatever reason. Either way I felt like it wasn't it in the official rulebook, and was seeking confirmation cuz I was too lazy to find it myself.

I'll def read the latest rulebook before I post the likes again!

[Asheville]

You're good, bones.

Ask away anytime. 🙂

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, Asheville said:

You're good, bones.

Ask away anytime. 🙂

Ditto.

In the future, though, if you say “I read Rule 12 and didn’t find anything but wondered if it might be elsewhere in etiquette or something.” That lets people know that you did some research on your own, @bones75. It’s good to see.