To Rake or Not to Rake

There was a valid argument raised in our last outing in Wild Turkey regarding raking the bunker after a shot that went into another bunker, say a greenside bunker. Rule 13.4a states that you may not test the surface of a hazard prior to playing out of it. Raking the bunker that you last played out of is deemed "testing the ground surface" when your ball is still inside a bunker even if it is not the same bunker. Some pundits may argue that it is NOT in breach of Rule 13.4a because you just came out of a bunker and golf etiquette dictates that “before leaving a bunker, players should carefully fill up and smooth over all holes and footprints made by them and any nearby made by others.”

They are actually right in saying the Rule does not apply to this situation.

However, a clear example of the breach of the Rule is when prior to making your shot you pick up a rake on the far side of the bunker to take it closer to your ball position and rake your footprints along the way. That is considered "testing the surface".

This rule was put into the spotlight after the Stewart Cink incident where he was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. He did not penalize himself after his caddie raked the fairway bunker after his approach shot went into a greenside bunker. The difference is his ball was not inside the fairway bunker. He caused footprints inside the bunker when he casually stepped into the bunker only to assess his ball situation. In other words, that particular situation demanded that the caddie should have waited until Cink have made his shot out of the greenside bunker before going back to the fairway bunker to rake it.

What an asinine ruling! It borders on the absurd if you actually have to go back to clean up after the fact.

The USGA and R&A actually did rectify the ruling and did the right thing. They decided that players will not be prohibited from practicing proper golf etiquette when more than one bunker is involved so when player's ball lies in one bunker, it would not be a breach of a rule to smooth another bunker.

And it had to be a disqualification of a known golfer for USGA to act upon a loophole.