GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
What bunker-sand contact is a penalty before playing the ball?
Under the joint R&A/USGA 2023 Rules of Golf, touching bunker sand is not automatically a penalty. Before a stroke at a ball in a bunker, do not deliberately test the sand or touch it with a club in the restricted areas or actions listed in Rule 12.2b. Other contact can be allowed, unless it improves conditions affecting the stroke.
For Golfers who are unsure whether a hand, foot, club, or other object may touch sand in a bunker before a stroke. · Updated
Avoid testing sand and restricted club contact
Before making a stroke at a ball in a bunker, a player must not deliberately touch the sand with a hand, club, rake, or other object to test its condition for the next stroke. A club must not touch sand right in front of or behind the ball, except for permitted search or removal actions, and must not touch sand during a practice swing or the backswing for the stroke.
The general penalty applies for a breach of Rule 12.2. The rule is not a blanket ban on every touch; what the player does and when they do it matter.
Some contact is allowed
A player may dig in with their feet to take a stance, smooth sand to care for the course, place equipment in the bunker, take actions allowed by another Rule, lean on a club for balance, or strike the sand in frustration. Removing a loose impediment or movable obstruction may also involve reasonable contact with the sand.
Even an otherwise allowed touch can be penalized if the player improves conditions affecting the stroke in breach of Rule 8.1a. For example, an action that changes the sand to make the intended stroke easier may cross that separate limit.
The restrictions can change after the ball leaves
After the ball has been played and is outside the bunker, or the player has taken or intends to take relief outside it, the restrictions on touching and smoothing the bunker sand no longer apply in the same way. If the ball comes back into the bunker or the player decides not to take relief outside, the restrictions apply again to that ball in play.
This sand-contact rule does not itself decide whether a ball is unplayable or which relief option applies. Unplayable-ball relief is addressed separately in Rule 19.3.
A fictional stance and practice swing
A fictional player digs their shoes into the sand to stand securely beside the ball; that contact is allowed. Before the stroke, the player then makes a practice swing and the club brushes the sand. That club contact is prohibited even if the player was not testing the sand. In another situation, a player smooths a footprint to care for the course; the action is allowed only so long as it does not improve conditions affecting the stroke.
Related questions
May I touch the sand with my hand?
Yes, except that you must not deliberately touch it to test the condition of the sand for your next stroke or use the contact to improve conditions affecting the stroke.
May I rake the bunker before playing?
Rule 12 allows reasonable contact while removing loose impediments or movable obstructions, but the player must still avoid prohibited testing, restricted club contact, and improving conditions affecting the stroke.