Taking your bag into a bunker might seem an unlikely thing to do – Imagine squeezing into the Road Hole bunker at St Andrews with a full Tour bag? That would look rather strange and would likely hamper your already highly challenging shot.
But there are situations where it might actually be time efficient for you to keep your clubs with you when you go into a bunker.
For instance – say you’ve hit it somewhere into the Church Pews at Oakmont. 100 yards long and you don’t know quite where your ball is, nor do you have any idea how far you will have (or what type of shot will be possible) from where you have ended.
If you’re carrying your clubs, it would be handy to take the lot of them with you into the bunker so you can assess the situation and choose the right option when you reach your ball. Is that allowed within The Rules?
In the Church Pews, you could possibly stand your bag up on one of the “Pews” … But that could be awkward – For the purposes of this imagined scenario, imagine that’s not really an option. Thanks!
Could you then simply stand your bag up, or lay it down in the sand beside your ball when you find it and go through a normal routine with your distance measuring device and club selection?
The simple answer to that question is yes. You can take your bag into a bunker and set it down before making a stroke.
It’s covered by Rule 12.2b(2) – When touching the sand in the bunker does not result in a penalty.
There are instances when touching the sand in the bunker before making a stroke is permitted. One of them is – “Placing clubs, equipment or other objects in the bunker (whether by throwing or setting them down.)”
Technically then, you could throw your bag into the bunker ahead of you as you make your way in… Why you would do that is nobody else’s business. But you wouldn’t be penalised … Unless perhaps the committee has a code of conduct policy in place! That's for a different article.
A small tip though - Don’t throw your bag into a bunker. That’s not a contravention of Rule 10.2 on giving advice because it hasn’t been given during the round. It’s simply a bit of behavioural guidance.
But if you want to, and it makes sense to do so, you can take your bag into a bunker and set it down beside you on the sand before you make a stroke.
There are reasons why you wouldn’t do that every time you find yourself in a bunker.
Firstly, your kit will start to get terribly sandy… quite annoying.
Secondly, it creates an added mess in the bunker and will lead to a more significant clear-up operation, post shot.
Thirdly, it could be awkward in deeper, smaller bunkers to have a full set of clubs with you (as described in Road Hole situation above).
Fourthly, it would make you look like a pillock. You don’t see Rory McIlroy with his Tour bag beside him in the bunker when he’s playing an escape shot.
There are rare instances when, as an amateur golfer, it can make sense to take your bag into a bunker with you and there is no penalty for doing that. In the main though, it probably makes more sense to leave the sack out of the sand!
