Ask Linda #134-Ball won't stay put in bunker

Dear Linda,
I have a question about your answer in #133. I hit my ball into a bunker, and it was leaning against a rake that had been placed in the rear of the bunker. I marked and lifted my ball, and then lifted the rake. The problem was that the back of the bunker slopes down. Each time I tried to replace the ball it rolled forward, closer to the hole. There was no other place in the bunker that was not closer to the hole where I could place my ball. Since you say that I can’t press the ball into the sand to keep it from rolling, what do I do?
Lou Lou

Dear Lou Lou,

That is an unfortunate predicament. You have only two choices, neither of which will make you happy. Since there is no spot in the bunker where you can legally place your ball, you must take it out of the bunker, assess yourself a one-stroke penalty (I told you this would not please you), and then either play it from where you hit your previous shot or drop it anywhere on an imaginary line that starts at the hole, passes through where your ball lay in the bunker, and extends backwards to infinity [Decision 20-3d/2].

This might be a good time to lobby your golf course to ask players to place rakes outside the bunkers.

Linda

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