Rake the Bunker

To rake the bunker means smoothing the sand in a bunker with a long-handled rake after playing a shot from it, so the next golfer plays from a fair surface. The tool used for this is called a bunker rake.

What is raking the bunker?

Raking the bunker is the standard practice that follows every shot played from a bunker. After a player hits out of the sand, the disturbed area gets smoothed back to its prepared condition using a rake supplied by the course. That covers both the player’s footprints and the impact zone where the club struck the sand on the swing.

The phrase covers an action and an unwritten expectation. The action is the physical work of dragging a rake across the disturbed sand until it sits level again. The expectation is older and broader, part of the principle that golfers care for the course as they play it. The Rules of Golf treat raking as a recognised form of caring for the course, and Wikipedia’s entry on golf etiquette includes it among the standard duties players are expected to perform during a round.

The point is not aesthetic. Bunker sand is prepared by maintenance crews to a specific depth and consistency so every player faces the same kind of lie. Footprints and shot debris destroy that consistency. Raking is the small piece of work that lets the next group play from the same prepared surface the previous group did.

The bunker rake

A bunker rake is the long-handled tool placed at intervals around a golf course’s bunkers for players (and caddies) to use after each shot. The head is wide and toothed, and many designs include a flat smoothing edge on the back. The handle is long enough that the rake can be used standing up, without the player needing to bend down.

Designs vary by course preference. Most modern bunker rakes have a plastic or metal head on a long, lightweight handle, though wooden handles are still found at some traditional clubs. Standard Golf, founded in 1910, is one of the major suppliers of bunker rakes and produces seven different head designs alone. Some courses experiment with alternatives like the Bunker Wizard, a roller-and-tine hybrid built specifically for sand, but the toothed rake remains the standard on the vast majority of courses worldwide.

The rules around raking a bunker

The Rules of Golf give players some freedom to rake, but draw a careful line between caring for the course and improving conditions for a stroke. Rule 12.2b(2) is the operative rule: when a player’s ball lies in a bunker, the player may rake the bunker at any time to care for the course, provided this does not improve the lie of the ball, the area of stance or swing, or the line of play.

That last point matters. Rule 8.1a(3) makes it a penalty to smooth a bunker on the line of play if the player’s own ball is not in it. A two-stroke penalty applies in stroke play, and loss of hole applies in match play. So a golfer cannot tidy up the bunker they are about to play over, even when it sits between the ball and the green.

A high-profile example came at the 2019 Hero World Challenge, where Patrick Reed was penalised two strokes for removing sand from behind his ball in a waste area, an action golf’s governing bodies considered an improvement of conditions. The same principle applies inside bunkers: the moment raking shifts from caring for the course to making the next shot easier, it costs strokes.

There is one other rule golfers run into regularly. A bunker rake left on or around a bunker is classified as a movable obstruction under Rule 15.2. If a ball comes to rest against a rake, which happens often on sloped bunker edges, the player may lift the rake. If the ball moves when the rake is removed, there is no penalty, but the ball must be replaced on its original spot under Rule 9.4. If the ball will not stay there after two attempts, Rule 14.2e directs the player to place it on the nearest spot where it will stay at rest, no nearer the hole.

How players rake a bunker

The standard procedure has been refined by the USGA’s Green Section over decades and is the same at every level of golf, from a recreational round to a tournament. The sequence is straightforward, even if the details vary slightly by course.

A player enters the bunker from the low side, where the sand meets the surrounding turf at the smallest step. The rake is brought into the bunker so it sits within reach during the shot. After playing the shot, the player smooths every disturbed patch by pushing and pulling the rake across the sand, working over both the footprints and the impact zone where the club met the sand. The goal is a uniform surface that gives no clue a shot was just played there.

On the way out, players exit from the low side again, raking the path behind them as they go. The USGA’s Green Section Record advises knocking any remaining sand off the soles of golf shoes with the club before stepping back onto the grass, especially after greenside bunker shots, since sand carried onto the green causes playability problems for everyone behind.

On courses with caddie programs, the caddie usually handles the raking, and tour caddies treat it as a routine part of the job.

Where rakes are placed

There is no rule about where bunker rakes should sit when they are not being used. Some courses leave rakes inside the bunker, others place them outside on the surrounding turf, and a few use a hybrid approach with the head in the bunker and the handle resting on the grass. Each method has its supporters, and the choice usually comes down to what works best for the course’s mowing equipment and grass-care routine.

The USGA’s official recommendation, set out in the Committee Procedures section of the Official Guide to the Rules of Golf, is to leave rakes outside the bunker and clear of the line of play, so a stray ball is not deflected by one. The reasoning is practical: a rake inside a bunker can stop or deflect a ball on a slope and create awkward ruling situations.

Some courses still prefer rakes inside the bunker. The argument there is that rakes outside the bunker disrupt mowing patterns and can get thrown around or run over by maintenance equipment. Several superintendents quoted in industry reporting note that placing rakes inside the bunker on a flat spot avoids most rules problems while keeping the mowers clear.

Whichever method a course uses, the right move for the player is to return the rake to the same kind of position it was found in. The USGA also makes a point about player behaviour around rakes: throwing or slamming a rake after a bad bunker shot is poor etiquette, and bunker rakes are expensive enough that maintenance teams notice when they get broken.

Related Golf Terms

Putts per round — The average number of putts taken during a round.
Rainmaker — An extremely high shot.
Putter — A flat-faced club designed for rolling the ball along the putting green.
Putt — A stroke played on the putting green using a putter.
Quadruple bogey — A score of four over par on a single hole.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is raking the bunker required by the Rules of Golf?

No, the Rules of Golf do not require a player to rake the bunker after playing from it. It is treated as etiquette rather than a rule. That said, most courses expect it, and some clubs even print reminders on the rake handles to make the expectation clear.

Can I rake a bunker before playing my shot from it?

Yes, as long as the raking does not improve the lie of the ball, the area of stance or swing, or the line of play. Rule 12.2b(2) allows a player to set clubs down in the sand and rake the bunker to care for the course before the shot, but improving conditions for the next stroke is a two-stroke penalty.

What happens if my ball stops against a rake left in a bunker?

The rake counts as a movable obstruction under Rule 15.2. The player may lift it without penalty. If the ball moves when the rake is removed, the ball must be replaced on its original spot. If it will not stay there after two tries, Rule 14.2e applies, and the ball goes on the nearest spot where it will stay at rest.

What’s the difference between a bunker rake and raking the bunker?

A bunker rake is the tool: the long-handled rake placed near bunkers for golfers to use. Raking the bunker is the action of using the rake to smooth the sand after a shot. The two terms come up together but refer to different things.

Sources

USGA. “Rule 12 – Bunkers.” Rules of Golf. Accessed May 2026.
USGA. “Rule 15 – Movable Obstructions and Loose Impediments.” Rules of Golf. Accessed May 2026.
USGA. “How to Rake a Bunker.” Green Section Record, September 2020.
USGA. “Where Should Golfers Put Bunker Rakes?” Green Section Record, 2022.
R&A. “Rule 12: Bunkers.” randa.org. Accessed May 2026.
Golf Digest. “Rules of Golf Review: My ball stopped against a rake just outside a bunker.” July 2024.
Golf.com. “Rules Guy: A rake is keeping my ball from rolling into a bunker.” April 2023.
NCGA. “Rule of the Month: Bunkers.” March 2023.
Wikipedia. “Golf Etiquette.” en.wikipedia.org. Accessed May 2026.