Penalty Stroke

An additional stroke added to a player's score as punishment for violating golf rules, such as hitting into water hazards, out-of-bounds areas, or improper procedures. Penalty strokes are essential to golf's self-policing nature and maintain competitive integrity by ensuring all players follow the same rules. Common penalty stroke situations include water hazards (one stroke), out-of-bounds (stroke and distance), and unplayable lies. Understanding penalty stroke rules helps golfers make strategic decisions about risk versus reward and ensures proper score keeping. Professional golfers must be thoroughly familiar with penalty stroke rules to avoid costly scoring errors during competition.