Bunker Rakes: In or Out of the Bunker?

[jkelley9]

I don't know what my local course rules or even my home course rules are, to be honest. But I will typically put the rake part in the bunker with the handle on the grass, in sort of a diagonal so that a ball rolling into the bunker isn't stopped by the rake, but also so that if a ball were to roll into the bunker the rake part shouldn't impede it as well. 

[Papa Steve 55]

My pro wants it out. His theory is this. If your ball is rolling into the bunker and the ball hits the rake outside of the bunker, and stays out, you get a break your not entitled to. If it rolls into the bunker and hits the rake, so what, your already in it.

[JxQx]

A couple courses I've played actually have a rake in every cart which I thought was kind of nice. 

[Golfingdad]

22 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

My pro wants it out. His theory is this. If your ball is rolling into the bunker and the ball hits the rake outside of the bunker, and stays out, you get a break your not entitled to. If it rolls into the bunker and hits the rake, so what, your already in it.

Did you mean to say "in?"

[iacas]

28 minutes ago, Papa Steve 55 said:

His theory is this. If your ball is rolling into the bunker and the ball hits the rake outside of the bunker, and stays out, you get a break your not entitled to.

So your pro is a sadist? Got it.

[Papa Steve 55]

1 hour ago, Golfingdad said:

Did you mean to say "in?"

yup, sorry for the confusion.

1 hour ago, iacas said:

So your pro is a sadist? Got it.

Yeah, its one his better attributes.

[sjduffers]

I think if you want the least amount of interference with regular play, you want the rake parallel to the bunker, outside of it, on the side furthest away from the hole and/or fairway. There are many other reasons to want a bunker in another place and I follow such requests made by the course, but by default, that's what I do, unless there is already a rake there, in which case I place mine on the other side to help with pace of play.

[jetsknicks1]

On January 17, 2017 at 3:34 PM, David in FL said:

The worst solution imho.   Almost without fail, the first time someone uses a rake, they'll forget that they're supposed to bring it back to the cart and will leave it at the bunker.  Leaving them with no rake for the remainder of the round.

Absent direction from the course, I leave it outside the bunker.

I do this 90% of the time. 

[natureboy]

On 1/17/2017 at 4:35 PM, Papa Steve 55 said:

My pro wants it out. His theory is this. If your ball is rolling into the bunker and the ball hits the rake outside of the bunker, and stays out, you get a break your not entitled to. If it rolls into the bunker and hits the rake, so what, your already in it.

My course has stickers on the rakes that say 'leave in'. However, I have never seen them in the bunkers when I play assuming that this is how all the other golfers leave them (or possibly even the grounds crew)? So I go with the visible culture.

If leaving the rake in is the right thing to do for ease of mowing the course, should it be well inside the margin? My thought is the scenario of @Papa Steve 55 above. You can move the rake to access the ball under the rules (even if the ball is lying on top of the rake), but if the rake stops a ball from travelling further into the bunker you're likely left with a shot that's kind of close to a lip / edge.

[WUTiger]

On 1/17/2017 at 1:32 PM, bkuehn1952 said:

Single Rake Corollary: If a bunker has only one rake, it will be located as far from your ball as possible and it will be broken.

Thanks for clarifying this. All these years I thought I was just cursed!

[Vinny Cap]

I have never see one left in the bunker.  I put it back right where I picked it up. 

[parman]

On 1/17/2017 at 1:14 PM, graham57 said:

This may appear to be sitting on the fence, but I leave the business end of the rake in the sand and try to place the handle on the edge of the bunker in such a way that it protudes over about half its length out of the bunker and is propped up in the air, so the chances of it interfering with a ball rolling along the ground are minimal.

I do the same. 

[flopster]

I have always left the rake in the bunker because it will be easier to locate than laying in the tall grass, I remember some rakes had a stake at the end of it and I always thought this was the best idea because it causes the least amount of obstruction and the most visibility to easily find the rake.

[fburns]

I play at different courses and it seems like they all have different expectations regarding rakes and their place in or near bunkers. I think half in and half out may be the answer, but I am wondering what the issues are that support either option. Is it much ado about nothing? What do the various professional tours do?

[iacas]

https://thesandtrap.com/b/rules/bunker_rakes_in_or_out

[Buckeyebowman]

27 minutes ago, fburns said:

I play at different courses and it seems like they all have different expectations regarding rakes and their place in or near bunkers. I think half in and half out may be the answer, but I am wondering what the issues are that support either option. Is it much ado about nothing? What do the various professional tours do?

Same here. I've played courses where the place to leave the bunker rakes are described in the local rules, or there are little signs near the bunker telling you thus. 

As for the pro tours, most of the golf I watch on TV has the rakes outside the bunkers. 

[rehmwa]

On 1/17/2017 at 1:32 PM, bkuehn1952 said:

Rake Position Principle: When one hits into the edge of an extremely large bunker, all rakes will be located at the furthest point from where one's ball is located.

Single Rake Corollary: If a bunker has only one rake, it will be located as far from your ball as possible and it will be broken.

 

^  This is not theory, this is scientifically proven.  Whatever requires either the longest walk, or the most disturbance of the sand.

I've never seen PVC pipes pounded in the ground at the edge of the bunker used at a (vertical) rake holder  I'd think this would be a decent option (movable obstruction, away from the mown area, near the edge of the trap, minimal area for the pipe to interfere with a rolling ball - hopefully off to the side as much as possible to avoid a rare flying ball strike, identifies a clear location to keep the rake)

On 1/17/2017 at 3:35 PM, Papa Steve 55 said:

My pro wants it [in]. His theory is this. If your ball is rolling into the bunker and the ball hits the rake outside of the bunker, and stays out, you get a break you're not entitled to.

If I knew that pro, I'd start to lay all the rakes in the grass across the front of the greens - like a little wall.  Just because

[billchao]

I leave the rake where the course says to. If it's not specified, I put it back where I found it, presumably where all the other rakes are. So even if there is nothing explicitly saying to leave the rakes in the bunkers but all the other rakes are in the bunkers, I'm putting mine in the bunker.