I would appreciate your opinion on the following:
A player in a large bunker plays her ball well forward but
fails to get out of the bunker. She rakes her footprints to save time (doing
nothing to improve her stance or lie for the next shot) and goes forward in the
bunker to play her second shot. This time the ball ricochets back into the area
she previously raked. I would say no penalty – correct?
Cheers,
Lulu from Australia
Dear Lulu,
Your understanding is correct. A player is permitted to rake
the bunker when her ball lies in the bunker, provided the reason for doing so
is to care for the course and the raking does not improve her lie, the area of
her intended stance or swing, or her line of play [Rule 13-4, Exception 2].
When the player in your question raked the bunker, her
intentions were honorable (and her actions were legal). She could not
anticipate that her next stroke would ricochet back into the area she had
raked. She does not incur a penalty.
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
