Joe from Sorta Like Golf breaks down five golf rules commonly broken by high-handicap golfers, including improving lies, gallery drops, gimme putts, grounding clubs in bunkers, and stroke-and-distance penalties. He highlights how casual rule-breaking affects handicap accuracy and offers practical insight into keeping honest scores on the golf course.
Avoid improving your lie by moving the ball out of divots or pressing down turf behind the ball.
Putt out all short putts instead of taking gimmes when keeping score for official handicap calculations.
Do not ground your clubhead in bunker sand before taking your swing.
Properly calculate stroke-and-distance penalties when dropping after an errant tee shot into the woods (hitting 4, not 3).
Refrain from taking unofficial 'gallery drops' for lost balls in fairways if you want an accurate handicap.