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Where does that rake 'spose to go?

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skeets

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I always though rakes are to be left in the bunker. Several playing partners insist they are to be placed outside the bunker. Is there an official standard? What do you do?
 
I've never seen a rake left in the bunker. Always outside.
 
skeets said:
I always though rakes are to be left in the bunker. Several playing partners insist they are to be placed outside the bunker. Is there an official standard? What do you do?
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I leave them outside unless the scorecard says to leave them in. When left in the bunker, the grounds crew doesn't have to move them when mowing around the bunkers.
 
Rakes are always outside the bunker
 
they are most usually outside but I have been to courses where they are inside.
However, I recall similar conversation a looooong time ago on the forum and someone made a great point for leaving them in the bunker.

Point was basically suggesting this.......why should a tool for the hazard be anywhere else but in the hazard? Why should the rake (a hazard tool) be left outside the hazard and possibly interfere with play outside that hazard?

Anyone been playing long enough has seen a rake outside bunkers interfere with a ball many times. And I agree with the above logic to keep rakes in the bunkers as that is why they are there....to maintain the bunker, so why should they interfere in anyway even if rare with play that goes on outside the bunker? That said, its not something bothersome to me but just that I do understand that point. Fwiw they can also help someone stay out of a bunker which has also happened sometimes to our favor but still imo that's not relevant because they really shouldn't be anywhere imo except in the hazard.
 
I try to do them either side of the green, outside of the bunker.
 
I see both around here, plus the occasional half-in/half-out. I just follow suit when replacing them since I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that the course has a preference and does it their way for a reason.
 
Ive seen both inside and outside, I pretty much place them whereever they appear to be at that course
 
mikedean441 said:
Ive seen both inside and outside, I pretty much place them whereever they appear to be at that course
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I follow this as well. I've seen them both ways.
 
The ones at our course have a sticker that reads "Please Place Outside Bunker", so I place outside the bunker.
 
various courses have different approaches by design, I know they actually have individual standards but generally forget to check before the round so when in Rome...I put them back where I find them
 
I don't ever leave them in the bunker, just on the outside. Now where on the outside, I don't know. Seems like wherever I lay one down, at least once a year, someone lets me know that my rake positioning left them in a tough spot with their ball. (I guess rakes are ball magnets).

~Rock
 
My course instructs to put them in the bunker perpendicular to the edge of the bunker. Most private courses I've played in recent years follow this practice.
 
Unfortunately, there's no standard and it tend to vary from course to course.

The more I have this discussion with people, the more I think the idea of leaving them in makes more sense.
 
Since most rakes are green and dark colors, they blend into the grass nicely with photography and views from a distance. Keep the rakes out of the bunkers, just for aesthetics.
 
my only real complaint about any of it is when we have large bunkers and not enough rakes in or around them..lol
Nothing worse than wasting time walking around large bunkers especially hilly ones back and forth because they only have one or two while the bunker is very large. Sometimes there is quite a bit of circumnavigating just to get a rake and frankly can be a pain in the butt. Not to mention slow us down a bit too.

I opt for rakes that stand up in tubes in the ground and with folding heads so as its all just skinny pole. Minimal interference, and always know where they are. lol
 
blugold said:
Since most rakes are green and dark colors, they blend into the grass nicely with photography and views from a distance. Keep the rakes out of the bunkers, just for aesthetics.
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Just make them tan colored with matt finish.
 
I have seen both. Some courses say in the bunker, some say out.

I prefer when they are out because there is a chance that it can stop my ball from rolling/trickling into the bunker. HA!
 
I have seen most rakes kept out of the grass, alongside the bunker. However I have been on a few courses where they left the head of the rake in the sand, with the handle out.
 
I've seen them in and out and they should be outside. I try to leave them in a convenient place for the next person
 
rollin said:
Just make them tan colored with matt finish.
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That would be an option. But, I don't like the idea of people tossing rakes into a bunker. I dunno.

In the big scope of golf, this is so low on my list of concerns.
 
I always put them in the bunker, but with one caveat. Always put them in with the rake head in the bottom of the bunker with the handle pointing back toward the tee box. Nothing worse than getting a ball hung up between the lip of the bunker & the rake that someone laid up against the edge.
 
I now put the rake half in, half out...with the handle being in the air, the claw-end being in the sand.

I never put much thought into this previously, and I would just place the rake back where I found it. I recently played at Hogan's home course, Shady Oaks, which is a very prestigious and exclusive country club. During the round I found myself in the bunker and played out, raked the sand, and placed the rake outside the sand -- like I would anywhere else. The member I was playing with explained the requirement of putting the rake half in, half out. I thought it was odd, but then he explained it made grabbing the rake easier, assisted the grounds crew during their mowing process, and reduced the chance of a ball rolling near a bunker from being affected by the rake (either positively or negatively). Seems to make sense, so I follow the Hogan way now.
 
I put the rake back where I found it, which is usually outside the bunker.
 
Outside ... all the time, regardless of what the course says.
 
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