By Kelsey Solan, USGA Rules Department
While you may have heard them called “sand traps” or “the beach,” these prepared sandy areas are known under the Rules of Golf as bunkers (Rule 12). Whether in the fairway or greenside, bunkers present an additional challenge to playing the game.
What is (or isn’t) a bunker?
Under the Rules, a bunker is a specially prepared area of sand, often a hollow made in the ground. Common things you may see around a bunker, such as a lip, wall or face at the edge of a bunker made of soil, grass or stacked turf, are not part of the bunker. Additionally, sand that has spilled over or is outside the edge of a prepared area is not part of the bunker.
Areas of desert or other naturally sandy areas, sometimes referred to as “waste areas,” are not bunkers. These areas are not specially prepared areas of sand.
When is your ball in a bunker?
It’s important to know when your ball lies in a bunker. That occurs when any part of your ball touches sand on the ground inside the edge of the bunker. This is the most common way your ball will be in a bunker: it simply rests on the sand in that prepared area.
There are some less-common situations in which your ball is also considered to lie in a bunker. The first situation is when your ball is inside the edge of the bunker and rests on ground where sand would normally be. For example, if your ball lies in the middle of a large bunker, but there is a washed- or worn-out area where sand is no longer present, your ball still lies in the bunker (even if may be touching ground or dirt). Additionally, if your ball lies in or on a loose impediment, movable obstruction, abnormal course condition or integral object that touches sand in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker.
You may also be familiar with “grass islands” that are sometimes featured in bunkers. These are areas of growing, attached grass and therefore are not part of the bunker.
What permissions or restrictions do you have in a bunker?
Bunkers are one of the defined areas of the course, and therefore have specific Rules that apply when your ball is located in that area. You are restricted in how you can touch the sand in the bunker where your ball lies. Before making a stroke at your ball in a bunker, you must not do the following things:
• Deliberately touch sand in the bunker with your hand, club or any other object to test the condition of the sand and learn information for your next stroke.
• Touch sand in the bunker with your club:
• In the area right in front of or right behind your ball,
• In making a practice swing, or
• In making your backswing for a stroke.
Outside of the actions listed above, you are not prohibited from touching sand in other ways, such as:
• Placing your clubs, equipment or other objects in the bunker,
• Leaning on a club to rest, stay balanced or prevent a fall, or
• Striking the sand in frustration or anger.
Finally, just like elsewhere on the course, before playing your ball in a bunker, you are free to remove loose impediments (detached natural objects), such as leaves or stones. You may also remove movable obstructions (artificial objects that can be moved with reasonable effort), such as rakes.
Playing from the bunker can be hard enough. It’s smart to keep in mind the Rules that apply to avoid getting any additional penalties.
For more on the Rules of Golf, click here.
