It’s no less than common good manners to pick up a rake and smooth out footprints after playing a shot out of a bunker.
Question: I was about to play my next shot from the fairway over a bunker flanking the green. The bunker was full of footprints, some of them quite deep. It was possible for the ball to land in the bunker instead of the green. Was I allowed to rake the bunker before playing my shot? The match was a competition.
Answer: Yes, and you could do so without penalty.
Question: On a hot afternoon I found my ball buried deep in a footprint and covered by sand, so much so that I could hardly see it. What is a golfer expected to do in such a situation?
Answer: All you are entitled to do is to carefully brush aside enough sand to enable you to see no more than a small part of the ball. Note, if you subsequently find after playing your shot that you have played a wrong ball, remember that positive identification isn’t necessary since there’s no penalty for playing a wrong ball from a hazard such as a bunker.
Question: My shot ended on the edge of a bunker on the grass overhanging it, but not touching the sand. Was it in fact in the bunker?
Answer: No, the margin of a bunker, unlike that of a water hazard, doesn’t extend vertically upwards.
Question: My partner’s and my balls came to rest in the same footprint in a bunker. My ball was the one farthest from the hole, so my partner lifted his and I played my shot. In doing so the footprint was obliterated. What should be done?
Answer: Your partner would have been required to recreate his original lie as near as possible, including the footprint, and place his ball in that lie, all without penalty.
Question: My ball came to rest just outside a bunker. This meant that I was forced to take up my stance inside the bunker. Was I free to ground my club or touch the sand during my backswing? – George Nicholas
Answer: Yes, since the ball was not in or touching the bunker.
E-mail your inquiry to [email protected] or post it to Box 12444, Clubview, 0014. |fw
