Golf Course Etiquette Reminder
One of the most common complaints that I hear on a daily basis at the club is "None of our members rake the bunkers." If I hear it once, I hear it a dozen times a day. I've personally addressed this issue with a few members who have been mentioned by name but the majority of the complaints are of a general nature.
The overall assumption is that a large base of our members do not feel that it is their responsibility to have to rake their footprints after they hit their shot from a bunker. Weather it is age, health, speed of play concerns or a sense of "entitlement", members are seen on a daily basis not taking the care that is necessary to leave the bunker in perfect playable condition after they hit their shot.
Over the course of the past few weeks, we've added over 50 additional rakes in an effort on our part to stop the "There aren't enough rakes" comments to the point that it is close to "rake overkill" out there. Please understand that any foot print not raked will not heal on it's own and will contribute to inconsistent and poor conditions for our members for the remainder of the day. It only takes one person on one hole in one bunker to start the chain.
The overall assumption is that a large base of our members do not feel that it is their responsibility to have to rake their footprints after they hit their shot from a bunker. Weather it is age, health, speed of play concerns or a sense of "entitlement", members are seen on a daily basis not taking the care that is necessary to leave the bunker in perfect playable condition after they hit their shot.
Over the course of the past few weeks, we've added over 50 additional rakes in an effort on our part to stop the "There aren't enough rakes" comments to the point that it is close to "rake overkill" out there. Please understand that any foot print not raked will not heal on it's own and will contribute to inconsistent and poor conditions for our members for the remainder of the day. It only takes one person on one hole in one bunker to start the chain.
For those members who may not have taken the time to learn the proper way to rake a bunker, here are a few step by step suggestions...
- Find the LOWEST spot around the edge of the bunker nearest to your ball. This is where you should enter and exit the bunker. In most cases, this location will be the side of the bunker farthest from the putting surface.
- Enter the bunker and TAKE THE RAKE WITH YOU! Some may think that it is against the rules to take a rake into a bunker, however it is not only perfectly legal, but highly recommended as it speeds up play (Rule 13-4). Just do not "test" the conditions or "improve" your lie with the rake.
- Play your shot but make sure you place the rake out of the way of your swing so that you will not hit the rake during your swing, interfere with the shot or have the rake help you align your shot in anyway.
- After the shot, begin raking the divot caused by your swing, then your footprints. Smooth the sand by pulling the rake towards you while walking backwards towards your point of entry smoothing your footprints as you go.
- The raked bunker should have an even surface with no signs of footprints or divots.
- Do NOT exit on the "high" side of the bunker. Doing so causes large amounts of sand to get pushed down into the bunker and makes it harder to rake your final footprints.
- Last but not least, place the rake BACK IN THE BUNKER close to where you found it.
We enjoy wonderful golf course conditions all season, but no matter how well the golf course is prepared by our staff before the first tee shot is struck, we all rely on our fellow members to follow basic golf course etiquette and take PRIDE in our club. The consideration from ALL of our members, ALL of the time, to rake after themselves would greatly help the overall experience for the rest of your fellow members playing in the groups behind you.
See you at the club
Warmest regards,
Vic
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