OK to take rake into bunker

A. It’s no wonder you never heard of this rule, Katie, because there is no such rule. Not only are you allowed to carry the rake into the bunker when your ball is in the bunker, you can carry your whole bag of clubs in and set them down. Lets go to Decision 13-4/0.5 in the Rules of Golf Decision book and look at some examples of things you can do in a bunker that would not constitute testing the condition of the hazard, and therefore would not violate the rules of golf.

1) Digging in with the feet for a stance, including for a practice swing, anywhere in the hazard or in a similar hazard;

2) Placing an object, such as clubs or a rake, in the hazard;

3) Leaning on an object (other than a club) such as a rake while it is touching the ground in the hazard;

4) Touching the hazard with an object (other than a club) such as a towel;

5) Marking the position of the ball with a tee or otherwise when proceeding under a rule.

Q. On a par-3 hole I hit my tee shot into some thick brush and, thinking it may be lost, played a provisional ball which I holed out. I didn’t want to look for my original ball but my fellow competitor was going forward to look for it anyway. In this case, when does my provisional ball become the ball in play? –Daniel Emmett

A. The provisional ball becomes the ball in play as soon as you pick it out of the hole, provided your original ball has not already been found by your fellow competitor.

Sue May is a U.S. Open rules official, a member of the USGA Senior Women’s committee and tournament director of the Women’s Trans National Championship. Address your rules questions to suemay@cox.net.