Rules Review
Rules of Golf Review: A tour pro grounded his club in a bunker but wasn't penalized. How come?
Andrew Redington
At the Mexico Open at Vidanta in February, defending champion Jake Knapp was battling just to make the cut when he hit a bunker shot on his final hole (the ninth) of the second round. The ball didn’t make it out of the bunker, and in frustration, Knapp swiped the sand with his club. This is a screenshot from the Golf Channel telecast that captured the moment (below).
Shortly after doing it, he was given a two-stroke penalty for touching the sand in a bunker before making a stroke (Rule 12.2b). The decision put Knapp outside the cut line and would have sent him home early if not for getting a second opinion on his rules incident.
After reviewing what had transpired and confirming that Knapp had struck the sand in anger, the penalty was rescinded. That was big for Knapp, since it allowed him to make the cut on the number.
So why was he allowed to get away with it?
You’ve got to read the fine print on Rule 12.2b. While it’s true that you can’t deliberately touch the sand in a bunker before playing a shot from within its confines—and that means with your club, your hand, a rake, etc.—there are some exceptions that aren’t in violation of the rule. Among them is striking the sand in anger, which means Knapp did not deserve a two-stroke penalty.
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Other exemptions include digging in with your feet, smoothing the sand to tidy the bunker, placing a club or rake down, measuring, marking, lifting or replacing a ball and leaning on a club for balance or rest. The only time when these exemptions do not apply is when the actions of touching the sand improve the conditions affecting the next stroke.
In the case of Knapp, for example, if he swung his club down in anger and the ball came to rest in a spot where that swipe would have improved the conditions for his second bunker try, he would have gotten a two-stroke penalty (and missed the cut). As you could see in the photo above, Knapp’s ball didn't come to rest anywhere near where he struck the sand.
The takeaway for newcomers to the game as it applies to bunkers? The two big no-nos are grounding your club at address or in the backswing, and testing the surface before playing the shot. You don’t get to find out if the sand is firm or fluffy or how much sand is under the ball before playing from a bunker. That includes practice swings or simply dragging your club through. The mystery is part of the challenge.
PhotoAlto/Laurence Mouton
