The Great Rake Debate

Should rakes be placed in or outside bunkers? Or partially out? A golf course architect studies the options

In or out? That has been the basic question ever since bunker rakes came into popularity about 70 years ago. However, there is the partially-in and partially-out option. My term for this is the "propped position." It's amazing I can write an entire article about bunker positioning, but it's an important topic. So, let's get to all you want to know about bunker rakes and some basic physics.

Besides the details of the tines, length of shaft and grip design, where to place the bunker rake has been an age-old question. Sure, we can discuss some of the innovations — subterranean compartments where rakes become the subject of hide-and-seek, looping handles that keep most of a rake above the turf, and the old rake and spike with its weapon-like, spear-fishing design. While these may work for some courses, the estimated 1.3 million bunkers worldwide are destined to have a simple, low-cost rake. And so, the question remains: Do we leave the rakes out, in or propped?

At Peacock Gap Golf Club in California, bunker rakes are left in the propped position where they are easily accessible and yet out of sight until needed. (PHOTO BY: FORREST RICHARDSON)

Honestly, I don't have a passion for bunker rakes. I somewhat prefer the no-rake-at-all approach, where hazards are ... well ... hazards. However, in an era where golf has come to accept the wooden tee (not widely used until well after World War II), precision-engineered cart paths (whatever happened to charming gravel trails with fescues popping up between the ruts?) and, at last count, the more than 14,000 corporations that manufacture products specifically for the golf industry, the saga of the ideal bunker rake positions will undoubtedly go on until we scientifically quantify our options.

The concerns with bunker rakes involve interference to play, ruling complexities, access to the golfer, aesthetics, interference with maintenance, wear and tear to the rake, speed of play and game traditions. This last concern has to do with the likeliness of a rake to change the outcome of a match compared with having no rake at all. Frankly, I feel this to be among the most essential questions. A rake is movable obstruction and my view is that movable obstructions are clutter to a golf course. The game is better off when we have fewer such obstructions.

I've used two forms of data to approach the question. The first is the physics of bunker rakes when set in each of the three positions. The three figures on the following pages show the linear dimensions of contact each rake has with the golf course for each position. The second data set is a grade given for each of these areas of concern. By canvassing rules officials, course operators and other experts, the goal was to arrive at an objective and fair grade (A, B, C, D or F) for each of these factors. After grading each concern for each option, an average grade was calculated for the three positions.

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