..Camella, having lived in SC most of my life, and now living in the sandhills, yes this is a common practice,,especially, the timber country where I live...it removes the underbrush, so the pine needle raking people can get at their needles easier,,,and also removes fuel for fires that would use this brush as fuel...I myself have done this on my property,,,some individuals burn their grass, which if you have centipede or zoysia is a mistake, as they are top ground grasses with very little root beneath the ground,,raking the dead grass is a better idea...there may be other reasons, but this is my experience.....