What do the rules say about a ball resting on a bunker racket?
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My ball in a greenside bunker was held by a rake so it wouldn’t roll down the slope at the bottom of the bunker. I suggested to my playing partners that I raise the racquet, which would let the ball roll down to the bottom of the bunker. After all, that’s what it would have done if the missile hadn’t been there. Thoughts? —Bruce Gardner, Springs, South Africa
Sounds reasonable, Bruce… just not the proper procedure.
There is no penalty for removing the racket and moving the ball in the process. However, you are required to replace the ball in its original place under Rules 15.2 and 9.4. If the ball will not rest in the spot after trying twice, then under rule 14.2e you would find the nearest place where it would rest, not closer to the hole and in the same bunker.
The rules of gravity and the rules of golf are not always one and the same.
For more bunkering instructions from our tutor, read on…
Rules Guy
My approach shot landed in a green bunker. When I hit the sand, my ball seemed to split! In fact, there was a range ball just under the sand, right behind and under my ball, which my wedge had hit. Both balls moved forward about 4 meters and remained in the bunker. Did I have the option to replay my shot? My partner said I didn’t, and it probably cost us $20 because we had four carries on the hole. — Matt Biel, Los Angeles, California.
I’m sorry for your loss, Matt. On the bright side, your partner knows his rules. You have made a hit on your ball. Although another abandoned ball was moved in the process, you are not considered to have played the wrong ball and there is no opportunity to replay the free stroke. (Also on the bright side, there’s no penalty, either — cold comfort, I know.)
That buried ball is a movable obstruction, so you would have allowed it to move if you had noticed it before you made your shot. Of course, seeing a buried object is a pretty neat trick; instead, you were the victim of some pretty bad luck. Every golfer knows the feeling at some point.
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