How to Rake Sand Bunkers

1. Locate the lowest spot around the edge of the bunker that is convenient to your ball. This will be your entry and exit point. Identifying this spot keeps you from walking down a steep facing (possibly damaging the turf), stepping off a higher rim (leaving deeper footprints), or having to walk a longer distance which would require raking a greater area of sand.
2. Once you've identified the most convenient low spot from which to enter and exit ... enter! Contrary to what some golfers believe, it is not only within the rules to take a rake into the bunker with you, it is advisable to do so because it speeds up the process.
3. Play the shot. Drop the rake directly behind the area where you have taken your stance. You should drop the rake at a convenient spot, within reaching distance. Otherwise, in retrieving the rake, you'll just add more area of sand that needs to be tended.
4. Begin raking over the signs of play from the sand - the area where your club made contact with the sand, and your footprints. Pull the tines of the rake toward you as you begin moving back to the rim of the bunker. But be careful not to pull too much sand toward you. The idea is to restore an even surface to the sand without displacing too much sand. If you are pulling too much sand toward you, try pushing the tines outward a few times, too. All the while, you should be progressing back to the edge of the bunker.