Linda,
During a recent round both my fellow competitor and myself
were in a sand trap and were pretty close together. We both walked into the
bunker and I hit first. My playing partner then hit, and as luck would have it
he did not get out of the trap and his ball rolled back into one of our
footprints. This got me wondering what the Rule is regarding raking a bunker
when two players are in the same bunker. Can the player that hits first rake
the entire bunker, including both his and the other guy’s footprints after he
hits but before the 2nd player hits, or is there some Rule that dictates what
can and what cannot be raked in this case? In retrospect, I can see where the
best solution would be to not walk into the bunker together, but I am still
curious as to whether or not this situation is covered by some specific Rule.
Thanks,
Lou from Texas
Dear Lou,
Your “in retrospect” solution is the best advice, Lou. If
your fellow competitor had waited outside the bunker while you hit, you could
have raked all of your footprints after you hit your ball out. A player is
always permitted to smooth sand in a hazard once his ball is out of the hazard
[Rule 13-4, Exception 2].
When your fellow competitor entered the bunker after you
exited, he would have been permitted to rake your footprints before hitting his
ball (had you not already done so), as a player is entitled to the lie, line of
play, and stance that he had when his ball came to rest in the bunker [see
Decisions 13-2/8, /8.5, and /8.7].
Since the two of you entered the bunker together, there are
more restrictions on what you may rake. Either player could rake the first
player’s footprints (if they could distinguish which footprints were made by
the first player), but neither could rake the second player’s footprints near
that player’s ball. While the second player is entitled to the lie, line of
play, and stance that he had when his ball came to rest in the bunker (which
entitles him to rake the first player’s footprints), a player who worsens his
own lie or area of stance is not entitled to restore it [Rule 13-2; Decision
13-2/29].
Linda
Copyright © 2018 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
