Just as an FYI this is still in effect as per USGA and is listed under "Temporary Posting under Covid Modifications" in The Villages "Golf The Villages"
Golf The Villages
"BUNKERS AND BUNKER RAKES
It is a normal part of the game to place a responsibility on all players to smooth sand in a bunker from which they have played. Committees have many options as to how to treat bunkers, which are largely dependent on the resources available.
In some cases, a committee may decide their best option is to remove all bunker rakes from the course. When this is done, it is possible for a player’s ball to come to rest in an unmaintained area of sand.
At minimum, it would be advisable to encourage players to try their best to smooth the disturbed area with a foot or a club after playing their ball from a bunker.
If you require cart use or most players at your course use a golf cart, the best approach might be to assign a rake to every golf cart, allowing players to operate as normal.
An additional option includes changing the status of bunkers to be part of the general area. This would give players additional options under multiple relief rules (Rules 16 and 19) and would remove the restrictions normally in effect under Rule 12.
Ground under repair could be used in two different manners. The first being to declare all bunkers to be ground under repair and treat them as part of the general area. This would allow players the option to take free relief outside the bunker under Rule 16.1. The second is to treat disturbed areas only as ground under repair. This would still allow a player free relief from such areas, but would require such relief to be taken elsewhere within the bunker.
As a last resort, a committee may add a preferred lies Local Rule that would allow a player to place the ball elsewhere in a bunker without penalty (such as within one club-length of where the ball came to rest). While that may seem like a good option in that it requires players to play from the bunker, there will be times when no effective relief would be available to a player, such as when a bunker is frequently played from and large areas are unraked. It would be recommended that the other options, such as those listed above, are considered first, noting that using the ground under repair options above ensure a player will get full relief and, when dropping from knee height, balls very rarely plug.
If a committee wishes for bunkers to be maintained, additional options include:
Make golf carts mandatory and supply a bunker rake to every player. The bunker rake handle must be cleansed prior to use on the golf cart. Each player may then use that rake after playing a stroke from a bunker.
Have one person walk with every group who is dedicated to raking bunkers for the group. This individual would be the only person who uses the bunker rake.
Leave all rakes on the course and provide every player with liquid sanitizer or cleansing wipes that would be used to disinfect the rake prior to and after each use, or alternatively, have players sanitize their hands after touching a bunker rake and before touching anything else (such as their golf club, bag or face).
If a committee takes any of the above actions, it is at the discretion of the committee whether scores would be acceptable for handicap purposes."
No more from me on this, deal with it
