Can you ground your club in a bunker?

The situation

You're in a bunker, setting up for your shot. You want to sole the club behind the ball to check your alignment, or you take a practice swing that grazes the sand.

The rule

Under Rule 12.2b, you cannot touch the sand with your club in the area immediately in front of or behind your ball before making the stroke. You also cannot touch the sand with your hands to test its condition. However, you can touch the sand in other ways: digging your feet in to take a stance, leaning on a club while waiting, touching the sand during the actual stroke and follow-through, and taking a practice swing that touches sand away from the ball area. The 2019 rules relaxed many of the old bunker restrictions — only the immediate area around the ball is protected.

Real example

You take a practice swing in the bunker, swinging through sand about two feet behind where your ball sits. That's fine — it's not in the area immediately in front of or behind the ball. But if your practice swing touches sand six inches directly behind the ball, that's a 2-stroke penalty.

What to do on the course

• Never sole (ground) your club directly behind or in front of the ball before swinging
• Practice swings away from the ball area are allowed, even if they touch sand
• You can use the club to lean on while waiting — just don't press it into the sand near the ball
• Raking the area around your ball before playing is not allowed — rake after the shot

Penalty

2-stroke penalty in stroke play / loss of hole in match play for touching sand in front of or behind the ball before the stroke.