As the ball (seemingly) was not actually on the rake then he should have simply removed the rake.

If that causes the ball to move it must be replaced (not dropped). 24-1a

In both cases, if it won't come to rest it must be placed on the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest not nearer the hole. 20-3d(i) 

Loss of hole for a breach of rule 24.

scazzer wrote (see)

so if your ball wont come to rest when placed and you have to proceed to nearest point could this be that you could end up placing in a hazard as this is the nearest spot where your ball will rest???

By the way - I believe the R & A recommend that rakes should be left OUTSIDE bunkers

After much consideration they felt that a rake in a bunker was more likely to interfere with the ball and unfairly penalise the player - ie it coming to rest on a slope - rather than rolling to a flat spot of the bunker

As in the example above the fact the rake was outside the bunker did not penalise th player and he was able to play the ball from where it had come to rest

niblick wrote (see)

I've no idea why we are asked to do it that way - I must find out.

So the greenkeepers don't have to get off their vehicles every time they get to a bunker when they're cutting the grass - fact!

I agree with DH, it's a complete pain in the arse when rakes are left in bunkers from a playing point of view, the ONLY reason to leave them in is to help the greenkeepers - tail wagging dog eh???

Do away with club provided rakes altogether and make every player carry a telescopic handled lightweight rake in their bag.

Lots of players are happy to carry telescopic ball retrievers and spend time fishing every time they pass a water hazard....cant see why they wouldnt be agreeable to carrying a lightweight rake.

I can see myself setting up a buisness selling "Tour Issue" rakes with Lime Green spined and flo'd shafts, with ultralight carbon fibre heads.

Played at Dudley golf course recently, and there was a bucket full of rakes at the 1st tee. You had to take one rake out per group. I imagine it was to stop local youths nicking them.

Seemed to work ok.

Dermot ;0) wrote (see)

Playing in a mixed doubles comp at Newquay yesterday (alternate shots) the Lady we played against drove into a fairway bunker only for the ball to stop just short of the sand as someone had left the rake out of the bunker by about 2 inches, the guy marked the ball then removed the rake and the ball rolled down the slope into the bunker, he dropped it twice and it rolled in again then he said he couldnt place it on the downslope as it would roll in again and went a club length back to a flat lie having a better stance and promptly hit a good shot. Was this the correct procedure?

niblick wrote (see)

I had a look today at the notice in my club which asks us to place rakes in bunkers with the head in the bunker and the handle just on the edge. It quite clearly says this is in line with the R&A recommendation that rakes should not be left wholly out of the bunker. The notice is dated 2002 so perhaps the R&A advice has changed? The reasoning given for this method is that this is the least likely way to interfere with the ball - which makes sense to me provided the rake is placed on the front of the bunker and in line with the hole. If however it is left at the side it can too easily catch and hold a ball on the slope which otherwise might have rolled down.

Surely this is the worst possible place to leave a rake?

My ball lands short of the bunker and rolls in from the front edge - it then hits the rake head which is resting on the downslope - thus leaving me with one of the hardest bunker shots there is

Brilliant idea!!!!

We have always left rakes in the bunker. Generally chucked back into the middle of the bunker after raking.

Recently the club changed the ruling and asked for them to be placed outside the bunkers and rested on steel hooks to keep the rake head off the ground. Sounds good doesn't it?

Bloody pain in the arse! The steel hooks are always on the far side of the bunker meaning you have to walk to to get em and return em. Bloody pain in the arse.

I'm with Creo. Smooth the bunker over with your club and walk out. It is a hazard after all.

UnitedAs1 wrote (see)

Quick question about my playing partner today, he landed in the bunker on the last and was right up against the lip of it, He has been having trouble getting out of bunkers today, so he says "I don't want to mess up my round, I'm going to take a drop" can he do this? If so where does he drop it?

If he doesn't want to play from the bunker his only option to play from where he made his last stroke. a) below

Rule 28. Ball unplayable

a. Play a ball as nearly as possible at the spot from which the original ball was last played (see Rule 20-5); or

b. Drop a ball behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the [i]hole[/i] and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped; or

c. Drop a ball within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the [i]hole[/i].

If the unplayable ball is in a [i]bunker[/i], the player may proceed under Clause a, b or c. If he elects to proceed under Clause b or c, a ball must be dropped in the [i]bunker[/i].

Pengwyn 7.0 \/ wrote (see)

 It is a hazard after all.

Bunkers are a test of skill, in exactly the same way that driving, fairway shots, putting and greenside rough shots are. 

If bunkers aren't repaired properly, it makes it a lottery.