Dear Linda,
I placed a rake in the bunker. I then hit my shot, it bounced back and hit the rake. This was match play. What is the penalty?
Lulu
Dear Lulu,
There is no penalty for hitting the rake. There is never a penalty for a ball hitting an obstruction. The fact that you had placed the rake in the bunker is irrelevant. The only situation I can imagine where you would be penalized for your ball hitting a rake would be if you hit your ball, see it roll towards the rake, and run forward to pick up the rake before your ball has the chance to hit it. In that unlikely situation, the player would be penalized for moving an object that might influence the movement of the ball [Rule 24-1].
Think about this: If players were penalized for a ball hitting a rake they had placed in a bunker, players would hesitate to bring a rake into the bunker with them and pace of play would suffer.
Linda
Copyright © 2010 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
