Rakes were back last weekend for the first time since March last year. No excuses any more for those crap bunker shots. Also the pool noodles have gone, and I’m already missing them. I now have to bend a lot further to get the ball out of the hole LOL.
 
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I will say, it would be somewhat good to have the option to lift foot rake, and drop. Seems decent enough. Doesn’t ensure a perfect kid but keeps it from being absolutely based off the etiquette from those in front of you.
 
Rakes we’re back last weekend for the first time since March last year. No excuses any more for those crap bunker shots. Also the pool noodles have gone, and I’m already missing them. I now have to bed a lot further to get the ball out of the hole LOL.
Yeah, the first round we played without the cup inserts I kept reaching down and my hand would stop short of the ball. Then I'd reach down the extra three inches and my hamstrings were like, "Nooooooo".
 
Not for me that, I want it raked. If they want it to be a ‘proper hazard’ they should perhaps consider not classing it as a bunker and you can ground your club etc. Like at Kiawah. “Waste area.” If it’s a bunker and a player can’t ground their club it should be raked imo. The rules of golf don’t say anything about having to play in perfect conditions or golf being ‘fair’. But where do we draw the line? Uneven tee boxes, long grass on fairways...?
but why? You can't ground your club in any other hazard. Edit: I'm wrong about not being able to ground clubs in hazards
I will say, it would be somewhat good to have the option to lift foot rake, and drop. Seems decent enough. Doesn’t ensure a perfect kid but keeps it from being absolutely based off the etiquette from those in front of you.
No foot takes a place. Hit it out if the footprint.
 
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but why? You can't ground your club in any other hazard.
They changed the rule on this. You're allowed to ground the club in a penalty area, but still not in a bunker.
 
They changed the rule on this. You're allowed to ground the club in a penalty area, but still not in a bunker.
Fair enough. But you still can't pick your ball up and get a favorable lie in a hazard.
 
What would you think if you went to a $60 per round course, where the bunkers were dragged everyday by the grounds crew but there were no rakes for golfers to use after bunker shots?
If I was first on the course, I'd be totally good with it. I'd take the appropriate levels of caution after hitting, cleaning up as best as I could.

I simply don't have that kind of faith in other golfers WITH rakes let alone without them.
 
They changed the rule on this. You're allowed to ground the club in a penalty area, but still not in a bunker.

For real?!?! When did that happen? I'm way out of the loop.
 
For real?!?! When did that happen? I'm way out of the loop.
When they transitioned some of the rules a year or two ago.

You also don't call them 'hazards' anymore. They are penalty areas.
 
But.... why
Because it's a hazard. A good lie shouldn't be expected. Having played this way all season, I can't understand why we think we're deserving of a good lie in a hazard.

I mean, we have to hit out of divots in the fairway (that's just me tagging on your least favorite thing ever).
 
Because it's a hazard. A good lie shouldn't be expected. Having played this way all season, I can't understand why we think we're deserving of a good lie in a hazard.

I mean, we have to hit out of divots in the fairway (that's just me tagging on your least favorite thing ever).
two stupid things don't make a less stupid thing haha

Also, I get the idea of an imperfect lie. I do NOT get the idea of dealing with some f***heads decision to leave a bunker unraked. That's not how they are intended to be played.
 
two stupid things don't make a less stupid thing haha

Also, I get the idea of an imperfect lie. I do NOT get the idea of dealing with some f***heads decision to leave a bunker unraked. That's not how they are intended to be played.
Haha.

I'm not sure "intention" is part of it. On that note, the course is *intending* the bunkers to be potentially extra penal, so be more cautious with your shots.

If the rack was there, your ball came to rest in a footprint, you wouldn't pick up your ball rack the bunker, replace your ball in the newly racked sand, would you? No, you would grit your teeth, swear about the fuckheads in front of you and play your shot. The risk of being in a footprint was always there.
 
Haha.

I'm not sure "intention" is part of it. On that note, the course is *intending* the bunkers to be potentially extra penal, so be more cautious with your shots.

If the rack was there, your ball came to rest in a footprint, you wouldn't pick up your ball rack the bunker, replace your ball in the newly racked sand, would you? No, you would grit your teeth, swear about the fuckheads in front of you and play your shot. The risk of being in a footprint was always there.
The course should be played as it was designed, from my perspective. That includes bunkers and fairways, which is probably why my opinion is consistent between the two.

To the scenario... In a non-competitive round? I'd probably move it or tell a friend to move their ball. Who cares? Golf isn't supposed to be punishing it's supposed to be fun. GHIN is already giving me a fake handicap, why not roll it all the time.
 
two stupid things don't make a less stupid thing haha

Also, I get the idea of an imperfect lie. I do NOT get the idea of dealing with some f***heads decision to leave a bunker unraked. That's not how they are intended to be played.

Pretty much setting up for every tournament to be first out has not only a huge advantage, but less thought of taking care of the course.
Seems like a recipe for disaster...And as you said, they are not hazards. :)
 
I will say, it would be somewhat good to have the option to lift foot rake, and drop. Seems decent enough. Doesn’t ensure a perfect kid but keeps it from being absolutely based off the etiquette from those in front of you.
Amongst the guys I play with, we do have that option.

Waste areas are one thing - they're not designed and intended to be raked and manicured. The grounds crew doesn't drag/smooth them, so you get what you get. Bunkers are designed and intended to be raked and manicured - that's why the greenskeepers drag them in the mornings, and why rakes are put there for golfers to use (in better times).

If you're playing in a competition and the guy in the group in front of you got to hit out of a smooth, pristine lie in the bunker but left big footprints in it where he dug his feet in, what sense does it make that your ball ends up in almost the same position as his, but you're hitting out of a crater because he didn't clean up his mess and leave the bunker the way it was intended to be?
 
The course should be played as it was designed, from my perspective. That includes bunkers and fairways, which is probably why my opinion is consistent between the two.

To the scenario... In a non-competitive round? I'd probably move it or tell a friend to move their ball. Who cares? Golf isn't supposed to be punishing it's supposed to be fun. GHIN is already giving me a fake handicap, why not roll it all the time.
Pretty much setting up for every tournament to be first out has not only a huge advantage, but less thought of taking care of the course.
Seems like a recipe for disaster...And as you said, they are not hazards. :)
If I was first out in a tournament I would be deliberately trampling through bunkers on every hole to try and get an unfair advantage :LOL:
 
If I was first out in a tournament I would be deliberately trampling through bunkers on every hole to try and get an unfair advantage :LOL:
Make sure to drag your feet on the greens too, even though they fixed that rule.
 
The course should be played as it was designed, from my perspective. That includes bunkers and fairways, which is probably why my opinion is consistent between the two.

To the scenario... In a non-competitive round? I'd probably move it or tell a friend to move their ball. Who cares? Golf isn't supposed to be punishing it's supposed to be fun. GHIN is already giving me a fake handicap, why not roll it all the time.
"played as it was designed" isn't something I care about and openly rail against. Not part of the consideration at all. That's the slippery slope that leads to "golfers hit it too far."

I am a huge proponent of making the game more fun in a non competitive match, as far as favorable lies in a bunker.
 
I was surprised some courses in Las Vegas still didn't have rakes.
 
Make sure to drag your feet on the greens too, even though they fixed that rule.
Don't forget to not fill your divots or fix ball marks either - why worry about the condition of the course for people behind you? They should just play it as it is and stop whining.

/s
 
Don't forget to not fill your divots or fix ball marks either - why worry about the condition of the course for people behind you? They should just play it as it is and stop whining.

/s
Not what I'm saying.
 
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