• Acting with integrity – for example, by following the Rules, applying all penalties, and being honest in all aspects of play.
• Showing consideration to others – for example, by playing at a prompt pace, looking out for the safety of others, and not distracting the play of another player. If a player plays a ball in a direction where there might be a danger of hitting someone, they should immediately shout a warning, such as the traditional warning of “fore”.
• Taking good care of the course – for example, by replacing divots, smoothing bunkers, repairing ball-marks, and not causing unnecessary damage to the course.

There is no penalty under the Rules for failing to act in this way, except that the Committee may disqualify a player for acting contrary to the spirit of the game if it finds that the player has committed serious misconduct.“Serious misconduct” is player behaviour that is so far removed from what is expected in golf that the most severe sanction of removing a player from the competition is justified.Penalties other than disqualification may be imposed for player misconduct only if those penalties are adopted as part of a Code of Conduct under Rule 1.2b.

1.2b Code of Conduct

The Committee may set its own standards of player conduct in a Code of Conduct adopted as a Local Rule.

• The Code may include penalties for breach of its standards, such as a one-stroke penalty or the general penalty.
• The Committee may also disqualify a player for serious misconduct in failing to meet the Code’s standards.

See Committee Procedures, Section 5I (explaining the standards of player conduct that may be adopted).

1.3 Playing by the Rules

1.3a Meaning of “Rules”; Terms of the Competition

The term “Rules” means:

• Rules 1-25 and the definitions in these Rules of Golf, and
• Any “Local Rules” the Committee adopts for the competition or the course.

Players are also responsible for complying with all “Terms of the Competition” adopted by the Committee (such as entry requirements, the form and dates of play, the number of rounds and the number and order of holes in a round).See Committee Procedures, Section 5C and Section 8 (Local Rules and full set of authorized Model Local Rules); Section 5A(Terms of the Competition).

1.3b Applying the Rules

Player Responsibility for Applying the Rules. Players are responsible for applying the Rules to themselves:

• Another person takes an action that would breach the Rules if taken by the player or caddie and that person does so at the player’s request or while acting with the player’s authority, or
• The player sees another person about to take an action concerning the player’s ball or equipment that they know would breach the Rules if taken by the player or caddie and does not take reasonable steps to object or stop it from happening.

Levels of Penalties. Penalties are meant to cancel out any potential advantage to the player. There are three main penalty levels:

• One-Stroke Penalty. This penalty applies in both match play and stroke play under certain Rules where either (a) the potential advantage from a breach is minor or (b) a player takes penalty relief by playing a ball from a different place than where the original ball lies.
• General Penalty (Loss of Hole in Match Play, Two-Stroke Penalty in Stroke Play). This penalty applies for a breach of most Rules, where the potential advantage is more significant than where only one penalty stroke applies.
• Disqualification. In both match play and stroke play, a player may be disqualified from the competition for certain actions or Rule breaches involving serious misconduct (see Rule 1.2) or where the potential advantage is too significant for the player’s score to be considered valid.

No Discretion to Vary Penalties. Penalties need to be applied only as provided in the Rules:

• Neither a player nor the Committee has authority to apply penalties in a different way, and
• A wrong application of a penalty or a failure to apply a penalty may stand only if it is too late to correct it (see Rules 20.1b(2), 20.1b(3), 20.2d and 20.2e).

In match play, the player and opponent may agree how to decide a Rules issue so long as they do not agree to ignore any Rule or penalty they know applies (see Rule 20.1b(1)).(4) Applying Penalties to Multiple Breaches of the Rules. Whether a player gets multiple penalties for breaching multiple Rules or the same Rule multiple times depends on whether there has been an intervening event and on what the player did.For the purpose of applying this Rule, there are two intervening events:

• The completion of a stroke, and
• Being aware or becoming aware of a breach of a Rule (this includes when a player knows they breached a Rule, when the player is told of a breach, or when the player is uncertain whether or not they have breached a Rule).

Penalties are applied as follows:

• Single Penalty Applied for Multiple Breaches Between Intervening Events: If a player breaches multiple Rules or the same Rule multiple times between intervening events, the player gets only one penalty. If the Rules breached have different penalties, the player gets only the higher-level penalty.
• Multiple Penalties Apply for Breaches Before and After Intervening Event: If a player breaches a Rule and then breaches the same Rule or another Rule after an intervening event, the player gets multiple penalties.

Exception – Failure to Replace a Moved Ball: If a player is required to replace a moved ball under Rule 9.4 but fails to do so and plays from a wrong place, they get only the general penalty under Rule 14.7a. But any penalty strokes a player gets for taking penalty relief (such as one penalty stroke under Rules 17.1, 18.1 and 19.2) are always applied in addition to any other penalties.