Keeping an Honest Score

Do

• Count every stroke, including whiffs, penalties, and provisional balls
• If you lose count on a hole, take the higher number or reconstruct best you can
• In casual play, it's fine to use a max score (double par) for simplicity
• If posting for a handicap, every stroke must be counted honestly

Don't

• Don't shave strokes — even in casual play it's meaningless to cheat yourself
• Don't adjust your score after the hole is done
• Don't fail to count a penalty because you think no one noticed

Beginner-safe script

“I lost count on that hole — I'm going to take the conservative number.”

Why it matters

Golf is one of the only sports where players call penalties on themselves. Honesty is fundamental to the game.