Good Bunker Etiquette

 Most golfers learn early on they should clean up after playing a stroke from the bunker.
 Smoothing out the footprints and suppression is a task that should be done every time!!!
 But many golfers are unaware that there is more to good bunker etiquette that simply just smoothing the surface. First, always use a rake to smooth the sand surface!!! Trying to smooth footprints and the suppression with your foot or the back of the golf club accomplishes very little.
 When raking sand towards the edge of the bunker, do not pull large amounts of sand over the edge. Doing so, can result in damage to the mowing equipment.
 When finished with the rake, place it near the bunker in a location that will reduce the chances of it coming into play. The USGA recommends placing the rake outside the bunker and parallel to the line of play. Preferably away from the target line between the fairway and the green. This is to reduce the chance of the rake influencing the players ball.
 Some golf courses prefer that the rake be placed in the bunker, if this is the case place the rake in a flat portion of the bunker. If the rake is placed on a steep face of the bunker it can easily result in a ball lodging up against the rake on the up slope. When the rake is moved the ball can also move and then will have to be replaced under the USGA rules of golf
 Always enter and exit the bunker on the low side. Climbing in and out of high sides causes major damage to the bunker face and the surroundings side.
 Follow the same path in and out of the bunker. This reduces the amount of raking necessary to repair the surface for the next player.
 Take the time to fix the damage you have caused and any nearby damage someone else might have left behind.
 Bunker maintenance is an extremely expensive part of taking care of the course. Golfers can free up workers for many other tasks simply by practicing good bunker etiquette.

 In my experience, there are way too many opinions about the correct placements of bunkers. So I simply ask players to replace the rake as they would want to find it when they approach a bunker. Let's take care of each other and respect the players that are still to come.

Willy Plowman
Golf Course Superintendent