Do you carry the Rules of Golf with you when you play?

[Fourputt]

I get the sentiment, but aren't you being just a tad hyberbolic here?

"So, how'd it go out there today?"

"Shot 82."

"Nice, sounds like you must have hit some decent shots?"

"82."

"OK, any birdies, any blow up holes?"

"82."

"Did you make any putts of consequence, or flub any chips, or anything worth remembering?"

"Eighty-two!  Nothing else matters - stop asking dumb questions!!!"

What do those birdies or made putts mean if they were not done under the rules?  A birdie made after kicking the ball out from behind a tree (or dropping 20 feet closer to the hole from a water hazard, or bending a branch out of the way so I can take a full swing, etc.) isn't a birdie, and nobody is ever going to convince me that it is.  Making that birdie during a round where I took liberties on other holes makes the birdie wasted.  A birdie is only really useful when it helps me toward a better total score.  

 

Of course I'll mention it when someone one asks how I played, but I'll also have the satisfaction of knowing that it has more meaning than just one good or lucky hole.

[Golfingdad]

 

What do those birdies or made putts mean if they were not done under the rules?  A birdie made after kicking the ball out from behind a tree (or dropping 20 feet closer to the hole from a water hazard, or bending a branch out of the way so I can take a full swing, etc.) isn't a birdie, and nobody is ever going to convince me that it is.  Making that birdie during a round where I took liberties on other holes makes the birdie wasted.  A birdie is only really useful when it helps me toward a better total score.  

 

Of course I'll mention it when someone one asks how I played, but I'll also have the satisfaction of knowing that it has more meaning than just one good or lucky hole.

I said I get the sentiment, but come on ... "nothing useful to show for it" is being a little over dramatic.  It's a game ... you still likely enjoyed yourself, enjoyed your friends, or perhaps made a new one (hi @nomulligans!!) , enjoyed hitting some good shots, learned from some bad ones, spent some time outdoors in nature, etc, etc, etc.

A score is nice, but you can have A LOT to "show for it" even if you take liberties with the rules.

[Fourputt]

I said I get the sentiment, but come on ... "nothing useful to show for it" is being a little over dramatic.  It's a game ... you still likely enjoyed yourself, enjoyed your friends, or perhaps made a new one (hi @nomulligans!!) , enjoyed hitting some good shots, learned from some bad ones, spent some time outdoors in nature, etc, etc, etc.

A score is nice, but you can have A LOT to "show for it" even if you take liberties with the rules.

The point is that I don't feel that way.   I love the social aspect of golf.  I always enjoy my round and the time spent with my wife or friends, or even total strangers.  Playing by the rules doesn't make that any less pleasant, but the game itself has no meaning for me without the rules.  I can socialize sitting in the bar in the clubhouse, but I can't brag or commiserate about the round if I didn't play golf the way I prefer to play it.  I get it that you don't consider that to be necessary, but I do.  To add a misinterpretation to Mr. Twain's quote, playing golf without the rules is a good game spoiled.  

 

I would be sick to shoot a round at or near my personal best and have it invalidated for having taken one or two shortcuts.  This is why I probably hit more provisional balls than most casual players do.  I don't want to have to record the round with an asterisk because I took par plus handicap for one or two holes due to rules breaches.