It’s a scenario that’s all too easy for the average amateur golfer to imagine – You’ve just fallen foul of a greenside bunker, taken five blasts to get out and putted out for an eight. What you really want to do is have a quick practice in one of the other greenside traps to try and find an effective method of extricating yourself from the sand so you don’t rack up a big number the next time you find yourself “on the beach.” The question is, can you do it?
The basic answer to the question - Can you practice bunker shots in a greenside trap after you’ve finished a hole? … is No, not if you’re playing a counting strokeplay round or a match. Well, you can of course, physically do it but not within The Rules. If you choose to practice a bunker shot between holes, you would get the General Penalty – A two-shot penalty added to your score on the following hole in stroke play, or, in match play, you would lose the following hole.
This is covered in The Rules of Golf by Rule 5.5b – Restriction on Practice Strokes After Completing a hole.
Basically, you’re not allowed to play any practice shots after completing a hole and making a stroke on the next hole. Except – you are allowed to have a putt on, or chip around the green of the hole you’ve finished or any nearby practice greens. You can also have a chip or putt beside the teeing area of your next hole. One caveat is that you mustn’t unreasonably delay play – that’s Rule 5.6a… So, you can’t linger and putt for five minutes on a green when a group is standing waiting to play their approach shots.
You can’t play a full shot back down the fairway after completing a hole (unless your returning a ball out of courtesy), nor skelp one away from the edge of the tee with a driver – Doing both would incur the General Penalty.
Rule 5.5b is also clear that no strokes made on or around the green, practice greens or next tee should be from a bunker.
So, there you have it – In the Rules of Golf, you can’t practice bunker shots in a greenside trap after you’ve finished a hole. If you do so, you’ll receive the General Penalty – two shots in stroke play and loss of hole in match play.
If you need to do some bunker practice, it’s best then to head to the course well before your tee time, head to the practice short game area and work on your sand shots before you tee off for your round.
