Unraked Bunkers

[ArtMBgolf]

How often a course should rake the bunkers depends on the cost level of 
a course.    Maybe once a week at a $40 muni.  Probably every day at a 
$100+ course.  
  
Golfers who don't rake are probably ignorant of the game's etiquette or
too dumb to see others raking.     If they know enough to dig in, you would 
think they would have the sense to swipe the deep footprints.  
  
I was Pres of a men's club for 2 years, at a public muni.  We tried to vote in 
a local rule to move a ball out of a footprint, if competitors agreed it's a foot 
print and not a embedded ball.   A well known outspoken member was against 
that and got enough members to vote against the local rule.   
Later in a tournament I was in his group when he ended up in a deep foot print.  
He got mad and actually asked if he could move it.  We reminded him that he voted 
against that rule.            
  
The Tour doesn't have to play out of footprints.  A local rule to move the ball 
makes sense.  Remember, it can happen to you.       

[rogolf]

We should never expect, nor anticipate, the conditions that the PGATour players experience.  I'm quite sure that most courses they play on weren't as good the week before they arrived and won't be as good the week after they leave.

We have to play our course as we find it.

Edited February 3, 2022 by rogolf

[charli]

On 2/1/2022 at 3:50 PM, dhacker56 said:

???  You aim to bailout into a sand trap?

At my course bunkers are almost always better than rough.

[LeoLeo99]

1 hour ago, ArtMBgolf said:

How often a course should rake the bunkers depends on the cost level of 
a course.    Maybe once a week at a $40 muni.  Probably every day at a 
$100+ course.  
  
Golfers who don't rake are probably ignorant of the game's etiquette or
too dumb to see others raking.     If they know enough to dig in, you would 
think they would have the sense to swipe the deep footprints.  
  
I was Pres of a men's club for 2 years, at a public muni.  We tried to vote in 
a local rule to move a ball out of a footprint, if competitors agreed it's a foot 
print and not a embedded ball.   A well known outspoken member was against 
that and got enough members to vote against the local rule.   
Later in a tournament I was in his group when he ended up in a deep foot print.  
He got mad and actually asked if he could move it.  We reminded him that he voted 
against that rule.            
  
The Tour doesn't have to play out of footprints.  A local rule to move the ball 
makes sense.  Remember, it can happen to you.       

The problem I've seen is lack of maintenance by the courses.  If the courses rake the bunkers it at least starts them at perfect for a morning.  After several people don't rake the bunker, it becomes a mine field and others stop raking that normally would.  It's all downhill from there.   I still rake the bunkers but it seem pointless. I can't rake the whole thing.  Plus the deer seem to like to frolic in the bunkers and leave their prints all over.  And let me tell you, the deer do not rake.  

[Mr. Bean]

49 minutes ago, LeoLeo99 said:

The problem I've seen is lack of maintenance by the courses.  If the courses rake the bunkers it at least starts them at perfect for a morning.  After several people don't rake the bunker, it becomes a mine field and others stop raking that normally would.  It's all downhill from there.   I still rake the bunkers but it seem pointless. I can't rake the whole thing.  Plus the deer seem to like to frolic in the bunkers and leave their prints all over.  And let me tell you, the deer do not rake.  

 

But it is possible to draft a Local Rule to get a free relief from a hoof mark.

[huskydawg]

Yes, I'm getting tired of it too.  Even in Canada and Japan, both places where people are pretty renowned for being polite, people don't rake bunkers.

 

On its face it just seems like a pretty rude thing to do, kind of like not fixing ball marks.

[jholz]

17 hours ago, RSinSG said:

One of the courses I play has hard pan bunkers that are fairly deep. If you get short sided it’s pretty much a one shot penalty. We have been begging for sand for years (municipal course) and they are unresponsive. 

 

Ours go on a seasonal basis, so I've at least got it better than you. We get new sand in the spring which gradually gets displaced over the course of the season making more and more bunkers into places you just hope you don't go.

 

 

[Mr. Bean]

1 hour ago, jholz said:

 

Ours go on a seasonal basis, so I've at least got it better than you. We get new sand in the spring which gradually gets displaced over the course of the season making more and more bunkers into places you just hope you don't go.

 

 

 

Every spring?? Really????

[jholz]

39 minutes ago, Mr. Bean said:

 

Every spring?? Really????

 It's not like they completely refill them or anything. Just a "refresher."

 

Every year a pile of sand shows up in the parking lot in late March or April. It's not a ton.

Edited February 3, 2022 by jholz

[Mr. Bean]

1 hour ago, jholz said:

 It's not like they completely refill them or anything. Just a "refresher."

 

Every year a pile of sand shows up in the parking lot in late March or April. It's not a ton.

 

This sounds like you have 1-layer bunkers. We have 2-layer bunkers and they are just great! The bottom layer is denser sand that has been pushed down very hard by machinery. Then the top layer is low-absorbing crushed mineral waste forming an easy to strike through -layer. The bottom layer being hard prevents the club from digging deep but sort of bounces the club back up. Simply awesome bunkers to play from!

[jholz]

19 minutes ago, Mr. Bean said:

 

This sounds like you have 1-layer bunkers. We have 2-layer bunkers and they are just great! The bottom layer is denser sand that has been pushed down very hard by machinery. Then the top layer is low-absorbing crushed mineral waste forming an easy to strike through -layer. The bottom layer being hard prevents the club from digging deep but sort of bounces the club back up. Simply awesome bunkers to play from!

 

Oh yeah, these bunkers are crap. Whatever they are. Thankfully most of the bunkers and honestly most places in most bunkers play ok most of the time. You just have to develop the local knowledge necessary to know when you are in a spot that traditionally plays thin.

 

It's always funny in the spring when they do the refresher, because it puts a thin layer of sand over hardpan in a lot of places. Those who don't know end up looking for their balls 30 yards over the green.

[MountainKing]

Just get rid of the rakes, half the courses (probably more) barely have any sand in thh bunker as it is making raking pointless. 

[RSinSG]

4 hours ago, jholz said:

It's not a ton.

I bet it is a ton. Sand is pretty heavy. 😉

[TwistedSister]

20 hours ago, charli said:

At my course bunkers are almost always better than rough.

Anyone that can aim at a bunker and can hit it can surely aim to the green and hit it.

[sui generis]

1 hour ago, dhacker56 said:

Anyone that can aim at a bunker and can hit it can surely aim to the green and hit it.

 

So, no sand wedge in your bag, huh?

 

You're on a roll this afternoon. 🙄

[KBong]

On 2/1/2022 at 11:20 AM, Dallas said:

Is anyone else getting tired of bunkers that are unraked? COVID (any maybe an influx of new golfers) seems to have created an issue where bunkers are either left unraked or very poorly raked at a lot of courses. Am I alone in thinking that people need to start raking the bunkers again?

At public courses....even pre-Covid....unraked bunkers were and continue to be an issue.

Same for unrepaired ball marks and divots.

[charli]

3 hours ago, dhacker56 said:

Anyone that can aim at a bunker and can hit it can surely aim to the green and hit it.

Huh? When did I say aim at a bunker? It’s just better to end up in certain bunkers rather than rough

[Twism86]

On 2/1/2022 at 4:17 PM, Flip4000 said:

For our league the last 2 years they had us rake and place in the bunkers if our ball landed in a footprint or someone's unraked divot. 

Yup, this is standard practice when I play. Why should I suffer the consequence of poor conditions due to someone else's laziness? If I was playing at a high end club where your caddy rakes for you or on the Tour, it wouldnt be an issue. 

[Mr. Bean]

10 hours ago, Twism86 said:

Yup, this is standard practice when I play. Why should I suffer the consequence of poor conditions due to someone else's laziness? If I was playing at a high end club where your caddy rakes for you or on the Tour, it wouldnt be an issue. 

 

So you move your ball from a divot hole as well, even in the rough?

 

Remember, nobody hits YOUR ball into a bunker, you do it yourself and you get what you get.

[Nels55]

On 2/3/2022 at 3:01 PM, dhacker56 said:

Anyone that can aim at a bunker and can hit it can surely aim to the green and hit it.

Tour pros aim at bunkers quite often when their previous shot put them in a spot where the bunker is the best option.

[Newby]

12 hours ago, Twism86 said:

Yup, this is standard practice when I play. Why should I suffer the consequence of poor conditions due to someone else's laziness? If I was playing at a high end club where your caddy rakes for you or on the Tour, it wouldnt be an issue. 

What other actions do you illegally take to protect your handicap?

[TwistedSister]

6 hours ago, Nels55 said:

Tour pros aim at bunkers quite often when their previous shot put them in a spot where the bunker is the best option.

Thanx for the info Bruce!

[Nels55]

9 hours ago, dhacker56 said:

Thanx for the info Bruce!

Hi Bruce!  No worries!

[Foxx]

I'm at the point I don't bother raking anymore. Rarely anybody else does, or does properly. I just swipe my foot and walk out now. 

[rogolf]

42 minutes ago, Foxx said:

I'm at the point I don't bother raking anymore. Rarely anybody else does, or does properly. I just swipe my foot and walk out now. 

Thaaat's niiice!

[Argonne69]

There's no excuse for not raking a bunker, or fixing a pitch mark for that matter. I can maybe see why a player might not want to hike 30 yds to pick up the sole rake in a large bunker, but what really kills me is when the footprints in the sand step right over a rake. If a player is capable of bending over to tie their shoelaces, or pick their ball out of the hole, then they can sure bend down and pick up a rake.

 

[Newby]

3 hours ago, Foxx said:

I'm at the point I don't bother raking anymore. Rarely anybody else does, or does properly. I just swipe my foot and walk out now. 

Thanks   🤬

 

Congratulations on joining the Yobbos

Edited April 13, 2024 by Newby

[st1800e]

4 hours ago, Foxx said:

I'm at the point I don't bother raking anymore. Rarely anybody else does, or does properly. I just swipe my foot and walk out now. 

Good for you! And no one else.  

[Foxx]

6 hours ago, Newby said:

Thanks   🤬

 

Congratulations on joining the Yobbos

 

I was in the minority that did the right thing. 

 

My complaints were mostly always met with a "well it's a hazard" response. So Ok hazard it is! 

Edited April 13, 2024 by Foxx

[Mr. Bean]

7 hours ago, Foxx said:

 

I was in the minority that did the right thing. 

 

My complaints were mostly always met with a "well it's a hazard" response. So Ok hazard it is! 

 

It is not a hazard, it is a bunker, and every player is responsible for smoothing all the undulations they make in a bunker WITH A RAKE.