Dear Linda,
Today my approach shot plugged in the steep upslope of a
greenside bunker. As it was a large bunker I took the bunker rake and laid it
well to the side. I was unable to extricate my ball owing to the awkward stance
and plugged lie. The ball caught the top of the bunker and ran round the rim
and down the slope. However, before it could reach the bowl of the bunker, it
came in contact with the rake. I am wondering if I incurred a penalty because
the ball's progress was inhibited by my having taken the rake into the bunker.
If I did incur a penalty, is it a one or two shot penalty? To play the next
shot I removed the rake and the ball then ran down the slope. I played the ball
where it had come to rest but I was unsure whether I had to replace the ball
where it lay against the rake. If I played from the wrong place I presume I
incurred the usual penalty of 2 shots.
Best wishes,
Lou from Perth, Australia
p.s. None of my group knew the ruling.
Dear Lou,
You are permitted to carry a rake into a bunker and lay it
in the sand. It follows that if you hit your ball and it subsequently contacts
the rake there is no penalty. There would, however, be a two-stroke penalty if
you hustled over and picked up the rake while your ball was in motion [Rules
24-1 and 1-2].
When your ball is leaning against a rake in a hazard, you
may remove the rake (I recommend that you mark the ball, although that is not
required). If your ball moves when you lift the rake, you must replace the ball
[Rule 24-1]. If your ball will not remain at rest on that spot after two tries,
you must place it in the bunker at the nearest spot no closer to the hole where
it will remain at rest [Rule 20-3d (ii)]. Since you did not replace your ball,
Lou, you played from a wrong place, and incurred the standard two-stroke
penalty [Rule 20-7a (ii)].
Linda
Copyright © 2012 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
