A very important rule, in particular for beginners is that:

You can declare every ball for unplayable.

What happens then? You receive one penalty stroke (due to inability) and the ball is dropped

• Either: Two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not closer to the flag. (Except in bunkers, where the ball may not be dropped outside of the bunker)
• or: On the line from the hole through where the ball lay
• or: At the spot where the original ball last lay.

Did you notice the advantage you are getting?

Let us imagine that your ball is lying somewhere in the rough and you know that you will not be able to play it from this spot. That is no big problem ? with only one penalty stroke you can locate a wonderful place on the course (on the line from the hole through the ball) and drop your ball there.

Golf rules are almost as difficult as the game itself.

There seem to be more than 765.000 pages in the little book of golf rules ? and when in doubt you can use the book to help you decide the right action on the golf course.

But; as a high-handicapper, you have problems knowing where to search when you want to know how many penalty strokes have to be added because you ended up in the miserable position you just now find yourself in.

We would therefore like to give you some easy hints to make it easier for you to know:

• No penalty strokes if you are unlucky (Obstructions)
• One penalty stroke for inability (Hazards)
• Two penalty strokes for stupidity (Brain damage)

So, if the uncontrollable ball ends up in water it is due to your inability and one penalty stroke if you drop it ? but if it lands on a sprinkler or underneath a trashcan it is bad luck, because it is not part of the game and you could not have known that there was a trashcan where the ball landed.

(In the beginning this is also the case with water hazards, because the inexperienced golfer has little control over where his balls land, but that is exactly the difference between skill and inability).

Stupidity is, like in real life always such, when you do not know the rules and e.g. try to tee your ball outside of the designated teeing ground.

To compensate for the additional strokes you are allowed to measure two club-lengths when you are penalized two strokes instead of one.