Can I ask the player in the group ahead to come back and rake?

The Rules of Golf are tough! Thankfully, we’ve obtained the guru. Our Rules Guy is aware of the ebook entrance to back. Got a query? He’s obtained all the solutions.

Your ball is in a bunker with footprints in your line of play, made by a man in the group ahead. Can you name him back to rake his tracks earlier than you play your subsequent shot? —Bruce Kristinson, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

Bruce, because you’re Canadian, we’re positive this request can be made politely… however it will definitely be hassle for you and seemingly for Bigfoot too.

Rule 1.3 prevents you from having one other player do one thing that might be a penalty have been you to do it your self — in this case, breach Rule 8.1, which restricts a player from bettering the “conditions affecting your stroke.”

Also, Rule 8.3 prevents this different (slovenly) player from intentionally doing the identical. While he may conceivably be off the hook if a part of his motive for belatedly raking the lure was to take care of the course, it’s greatest to let sleeping canines lie. Play your shot as is. No doubt you’ll keep in mind to rake the bunker!

For extra bunker-related steerage from our guru, learn on …

Our course has just a few refurbished bunkers constructed with an Astroturf base and revetted faces of stacked Astro­turf. Some of the bunkers solely have a skinny coating of sand, which might produce bladed photographs when the wedge’s bounce hits that Astro­turf base. I know the new guidelines don’t permit you to check the floor together with your hand or membership, however what about checking the sand’s depth with an extended tee? —Jim Cumberbatch, by way of e-mail

Stacked Astroturf … it feels like the membership employed Old Tom Morris as the architect and Sanford & Son as the contractor!

In level of reality, the Rule quantity — 12.2b(1) — could have modified however this Rule hasn’t, specifically, gamers are prohibited from touching the sand in a bunker to glean details about it for the subsequent stroke. No hand, no membership, no tee, no rake, no backyard shovel.

The penalty additionally stays the identical — the common penalty of two strokes in stroke play and lack of gap in match play. More generally, do you have to come throughout a bunker with little to no sand not staked as floor beneath restore, you may: Play two balls, one because it lies and one taking reduction, and get a ruling later from the commit­tee (stroke play solely); play beneath stroke and distance, replaying from the prior spot with a one-stroke pen­alty; or, beneath the new ball-unplay­in a position rule, drop exterior the bunker, utilizing back-on-the-line reduction, for 2 penalty strokes. Also, in the event that they substitute the greens with shag automotive­peting, discover a new course.

Need assist unriddling the greens at your property course? Pick up a customized Green Book from Golf Logix.

Got a query about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and feedback to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he received’t throw the ebook at you.

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