Women & Golf’s rules expert Sheila Waltham explains the ruling on raking a bunker before dropping a ball to replay a shot
From a fairway bunker, I hit my ball out of bounds. I raked the sand before dropping another ball. Is this allowed?
Yes. This situation occurs more frequently than one might think.
Once the stroke has been made and the ball lies out of bounds, it is no longer in play. The Rules require the player to take stroke and distance relief by playing again from the bunker, however, restrictions on touching sand in a bunker only apply before making a stroke at a ball lying in the bunker. In this situation, the ball is no longer in the bunker and is no longer in play.
Rule 12.2(3) states that there are no restrictions after a ball is played out of bunker and the player may touch sand in the bunker or smooth sand in the bunker to care for the course without penalty. This is true even if the player is required to take stroke-and-distance relief by dropping the ball in the bunker.
By Sheila Waltham
About the author
Sheila Waltham has been a qualified rules official for over 15 years and joined the England Golf Tournament Panel of Referees in 2019. A keen golfer since 1995, Sheila’s interest in the Rules was born out of the realisation that a lot of the information she received as a novice golfer was incorrect. So, she took matters into her own hands!
Become a whizz on the rules. Check out our previous Ask the Ref features, like this one: What happens if my golf ball ends up in a puddle?
For further information refer to the R&A Rules of Golf.
