Should we leave rakes inside the bunker, outside the bunker, or prop the handle on the edge of the bunker? How many rakes per bunker? What about leaving them on steep slopes? These are all questions about rake placement that come up during USGA Course Consulting Service visits. Placing bunker rakes in locations that minimize their impact on play and maintenance yet provide adequate availability for golfers is not easy.
The Green Section Record article “Where Should Golfers Put Bunker Rakes?” is an excellent guide for selecting appropriate locations, but even when your course settles on a policy, bunker rakes do not always make it back to their designated home. Inevitably, maintenance staff and golfers move them and do not always place them back where they came from. At the recent U.S. Amateur Four-Ball championship, I saw that the team at The Philadelphia Cricket Club used blue-colored marking whiskers called trail chasers to mark correct bunker rake placement. This helps the maintenance staff, players and caddies return bunker rakes to where they belong.
By taking the guesswork out of rake placement, the maintenance staff can quickly assess whether they need repositioning during morning course prep. Additionally, golfers can see where to replace their bunker rake – even if they don’t always do it! The whiskers are soft plastic bristles that are easily mowed over and do not interfere with play. Trail chasers are available online and at most hardware stores. Additional uses for trail chasers include monitoring bunker sand depths and marking mowing lines. If keeping bunker rakes where you want them is an issue, marking their home may be part of the solution.
Northeast Region Agronomists:
Darin Bevard, senior director, Championship Agronomy – dbevard@usga.org
Elliott L. Dowling, regional director, East Region – edowling@usga.org
Brian Gietka, agronomist – bgietka@usga.org