Golf should be such a simple game. Hit a little ball into a slightly bigger hole in as few strokes as possible.

Out of that, however, comes a rule book that is 191 pages long and another - “Decisions on the Rules of Golf” - that is designed to “help resolve any outstanding queries”.

Goodness knows how many breaches occur at club level, but on the professional tours of the world hardly a week goes by without a player doing something he shouldn’t.

In the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on Saturday American Boo Weekley - yes, his nickname comes from Yogi Bear’s sidekick Boo-Boo - was just trying to be nice. Bad mistake.

He did not know it at the time, but in trying to save playing partner Tom Johnson some penalty shots he incurred some himself.

Johnson was on the green at the short second, but to get to the hole had to go through the fringe and decided to chip the ball. And when Weekley saw that it was heading for the unattended flagstick - Johnson’s caddie should have been holding it - he ran and pulled it out.

Rule 17-2 states that “if a fellow competitor or his caddie, without the player’s authority or prior knowledge, attends, removes or holds up the flagstick during the stroke or while the ball is in motion, and the act might influence the movement of the ball, the fellow competitor incurs the applicable penalty.”

At the end of his round, therefore, Weekley’s three-under-par 67, the joint low round of the day, was turned into a 69. He dropped from 10th to 21st and eventually finished 14th rather than ninth. It cost him roughly £20,000.

“That’s the thing about this game - you never stop learning,” the 33-year-old said and even US Tour official Mark Russell admitted: “I’ll tell you this - I’ve never heard of that in my 27 years in golf. Boo said he was just trying to help out and knew if the ball hit the flagstick it was a penalty.

Johnson, who shot a 79 even without the extra penalties he would have incurred but for Weekley’s actions, commented: “I’ve seen some pretty weird things on the golf course, but that’s one of the hardest penalties I have ever seen. He was just trying to do me a favour.”

Something good will surely happen to Weekley soon if there is any justice. March began with him missing a three-foot putt to win the Honda Classic and then losing in a play-off to Mark Wilson - a player who during that tournament called a two-shot penalty on himself after his caddie made the mistake of mentioning what club he had hit to a playing partner’s caddie.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club and the United States Golf Association are the two rule-making organisations and if you have an idle hour go onto the R&A’s website and try their quiz. You might be a good guesser, but it might astound you how little you actually know.

The most costly blunder remains Roberto de Vicenzo at the 1968 Masters. Everyone saw him birdie the 17th in the final round, but after finishing level with Bob Goalby the Argentinian did not spot that playing partner Tommy Aaron had put him down for a par four.

De Vicenzo signed the card, had to accept the higher score and lost by one. “What a stupid man I am,” he said.

A probable victory by Padraig Harrington at the 2000 Benson and Hedges International - he was five clear with a round to go - was denied him when it was discovered that he had not signed his first-round scorecard.

The Dubliner also might have won the European Order of Merit two years later but for a two-stroke penalty incurred on the opening hole of the final event when he repaired a pitch mark that was on the fringe of the green rather than the green itself.

And who will ever forget the agony suffered by Mark Roe in the 2003 Open at Sandwich? He and playing partner Jesper Parnevik failed to exchange cards on the first tee of the third round and while Roe shot 67 to move into the thick of contention he and Parnevik were both disqualified for signing for wrong scores.

Former Ryder Cup star Ken Brown said: “The rules are cut and dried - there are no grey areas. But sometimes you have to take a step back and say ‘this is just daft’.”

The R&A later altered the rule to try to prevent a repeat. No use to Roe by then, though. It is the name of Ben Curtis on the Claret Jug for all time.

Two years earlier, of course, Ian Woosnam was tied for the lead with 17 holes to play when his caddie discovered to his absolute horror there were two drivers in the bag and therefore one club too many.

With the opening hole at Royal Lytham a par three Woosnam had not spotted it in teeing off and therefore incurred a two-shot penalty. He never recovered on the day and has never been in contention for the Open since.

Source - www.sportinglife.com