My Ball Just Came To Rest Against A Rake. What Do I Do?

It’s always a hotly debated topic among golfers – Should rakes be left in or outside of bunkers?

Personally, I think they should be left centrally in bunkers. If they are left outside on the edge, they can prevent balls from going in the sand that should have done.

If they are left just inside bunkers, they can prevent balls rolling into a playable position in the bunker – that is infuriating. You might have had a shot but because the rake has stopped it just under the lip, you don’t.

Let me know in the comments box below where you think rakes should be left...

What do you do though if your ball comes to rest against a rake? Can you move it or do you just have to make the best of the situation?

Well to start with, what is a rake under the definitions of the Rules? It’s a movable obstruction. A movable obstruction is an obstruction that can be moved with reasonable effort and without damaging the obstruction or the course. It is an artificial object and is not an integral part of the course.

OK, so what can we do about a movable obstruction? Well, this is covered by Rule 15.2a.

It says that, without penalty, you can remove a movable obstruction anywhere on the course and you can do it in any way. So, whether your ball is up against the rake in the general area (on the side of a bunker) or up against a rake inside the bunker, you can move that rake without incurring a penalty.

The next, obvious question though is, what happens if the ball moves when you remove the rake?

That’s all too likely as the rake may well have been placed on a slope either leading into the bunker or within the bunker, on a sloped edge.

That’s covered in Rule 15.2a as well. It continues that – if the ball moves when you are moving a movable obstruction then, with no penalty, you must replace the ball on its original spot. If you don’t know exactly where that is – you must estimate it.

There’s no requirement to do so under the Rules, but it’s not a bad idea to mark the spot of your ball before you remove the rake. Then, if it does move, you know where to replace it.

OK, that’s fine, but you might now face another problem. If the ball moved when you removed the rake, it’s likely to move similarly when you try to place it on its original spot – the likelihood is, the ball was resting against the rake on a slope.

What to do is covered by Rule 14.2e – If the ball doesn’t stay on the original spot when you replace it, you must try a second time. It’s worth noting, you must place it and not press the ball into the ground to try to make it stay.

If it doesn’t stay in the on its original spot for a second time, you must place it on the nearest spot where the ball will stay at rest, no nearer the hole than the original spot.

If your original spot was in the general area (on the side of the bunker say) the nearest spot must still be in the general area. Likewise, if the original spot was in the bunker, the nearest spot must be in the same bunker.

Occasionally, you might get a good or better result from following this correct procedure… Sometimes you won’t. That’s golf!

Rules Quiz