“No golfer loves the desert. We love water and green trees. There is nothing in the desert and no man needs nothing.” – Alec Guinness in the 1962 Oscar-winning film “Lawrence of Arabia”.
If you were to compare your golf game to a film, which would it be? “Caddyshack,” “Psycho,” “The Exorcist,” “Gone With the Wind,” “La La Land,” “The Miracle Worker,” “Singin' in the Rain,” “Bye Bye Birdie,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” “Beauty and the Beast,” or “A Beautiful Thing”?
For my game, it might have to be “Lawrence of Arabia” (although some of my friends may have less complimentary titles in mind). If there is sand on a golf course, my ball will find it. And if I’m in a bunker, the question is, will I be able to get out faster than the movie’s 227-minute runtime?
Yes, bunkers are like movies – they can be comedies, horror shows, disasters, fantasy, experimental, thrillers, and great mysteries.
Not only are bunkers difficult for the average player to escape, the Rules regarding bunkers can be a bit frustrating as well. The important thing is to remember the first part of the definition of “Bunker” in the Rules of Golf -- A specially prepared area of sand, which is often a hollow from which turf or soil was removed.
These are not part of a bunker:
- A lip, wall or face at the edge of a prepared area and consisting of soil, grass, stacked turf or artificial materials,
- Soil or any growing or attached natural object inside the edge of a prepared area (such as grass, bushes or trees),
- Sand that has spilled over or is outside the edge of a prepared area, and
- All other areas of sand on the course that are not inside the edge of a prepared area (such as deserts and other natural sand areas or areas sometimes referred to as waste areas).
If you read the above definition carefully, you are guaranteed to get a few questions correct in this month’s quiz, which is designed to test your knowledge about Bunkers.
Questions: True / False
1) Before making a stroke at a ball that is in a bunker, the player receives the general penalty if they remove a loose impediment lying in or touching the bunker.
2) A player's ball lies in the general area, but a bunker is situated between the player's ball and the hole. The player may test the condition of the bunker to determine if it is feasible to putt through it.
3) When their ball lies in a bunker, and during the backward movement of the club for the stroke, a player must not allow their club to touch a bush growing in the bunker.
4) During a match, a player's ball lies in a bunker. After the player's stroke, the ball remains in the bunker and the player kicks the sand twice with their foot out of anger. The player will suffer a loss of hole penalty for striking the sand with his foot.
5) During a match, a player's ball lies in a bunker, while their opponent's ball lies on the putting green, but farther from the hole. The player plays out of order from the bunker and the ball comes to rest on the putting green. The player rakes the bunker and after the player has raked the bunker, the opponent cancels the stroke and tells the player to replay, in the proper order, his stroke from the bunker. The opponent then claims the hole telling the player that he can’t rake a bunker that he has to play out of again. The opponent is correct
6) A player’s ball comes to rest in a bunker and just behind the ball is a mound of sand that is part of an animal hole. The player is prohibited from touching the mound of sand in making the backswing for a stroke.
7) A dirt lip, wall or face at the edge of a bunker is part of the bunker.
8) A player’s ball lies in a bunker in front of a green that is surrounded by other small bunkers. Before making his stroke, the player steps into one of the other bunkers and makes a few practices strokes, touching the sand each time. The player will be penalized for taking the practice strokes.
---
Answers:
1) False. Rule 12.2b. Before playing a ball in a bunker, a player may remove loose impediments. This includes any reasonable touching or movement of the sand in the bunker that happens while doing so. However, if a player’s removal of a loose impediment in the bunker causes their ball to move, the player gets one penalty stroke and the ball must be replaced on its original spot.
2) True. 12.2b(1). Restrictions on testing sand in a bunker apply only when the ball lies in the bunker.
3) False. Rule12.2b(1). While a player may not touch sand in a bunker with a club in making the backswing for a stroke, there is no prohibition against the club touching a bush growing in the bunker.
4) False. 12.2b(2). While we should all work to control our temper on the golf course, it is not a penalty for a player to strike the sand in frustration or anger, unless their act improves the conditions affecting the next stroke. Other times a player may touch the sand in a bunker include placing or throwing clubs into a bunker, leaning on a club to rest, stay balanced or to prevent a fall and in measuring, marking, lifting, replacing or taking other actions under a Rule.
5) False. Rule12.2b(3). Once a player has played a ball out of a bunker, there are no restrictions on the player, who may touch sand in the bunker or smooth sand in a bunker. The key part of this answer is that the player has played the ball from the bunker and the ball is then outside the bunker.
6) True. Rules12.2b(1), 16.1c and Clarification 12.2b/1. The restrictions in Rule 12.2b(1) on touching sand in a bunker apply to touching the mound as well in making the backswing for a stroke. However, the mound of sand from the animal hole is an abnormal course condition and the player may take free relief under Rule 16.1.
7) False. Definition of Bunker. A lip, wall or face at the edge of a prepared area of sand are not part of a bunker. Neither are any growing or natural objects inside the prepared area, such as grass, brush or trees. All other areas of sand on the course that are not inside the edge of a prepared area (such as deserts and other natural sand areas), are not part of a bunker. Also, sand that has spilled outside, or is outside of a prepared area, is not part of the bunker. But remember that if a ball imbedded in the face of a prepared area also touches sand, the ball is deemed to be in the bunker
8) False. Rule 12.2b. The prohibitions in the Rule refer only to the bunker in which the player’s ball lies. Taking practice strokes in one of the other bunkers won’t earn a penalty, but it might cost you a few friends along the way if you make it a habit. Not to mention the damage you will end up causing to pace of play.