Even the best golfers fall victim to the rules of the game — just ask Greg Norman, Paul Azinger, Craig Stadler and Michelle Wie.

The Advertiser, with help from Ko Olina director of golf Greg Nichols, has begun a question-and-answer feature on the rules of golf. If you have a question regarding the rules of golf e-mail a question to cmurayama@honolulu advertiser.com.

For additional rules information, ask your local Aloha Section PGA professional or go online to www.USGA.org.

The spirit of the game of golf has always been about players conducting themselves in a disciplined manner, demonstrating courtesy and good sportsmanship at all times. The game relies on the integrity of the individual to show consideration for the other players and to abide by the rules of golf. What other sport requires the players to call a penalty on themselves?

There have been countless stories of national championships being determined by a player such as Bobby Jones calling a penalty upon himself because his ball accidentally moved while he was in the process of playing a shot even though no one else in the field saw the ball move.

Another reason for golf's huge popularity is that players of every ability level can play against one another in a match thanks to the existence of handicaps.

It would be impossible for a top tennis player to have any kind of challenging match against a beginning player. In golf, thanks to handicaps, the beginner can and does compete fairly with the pro. A player's handicap is determined by a mathematical formula based upon their most recent 20 scores. The better player will give a determined number of handicap strokes to the lower handicapper creating an equitable situation. Of course, a handicap needs to be an honest handicap for the match to be fair. In a competition, if a player plays to a handicap higher than what he knows he should be entitled, the penalty is disqualification.

The practice of someone "padding" a handicap to gain an unfair advantage is known as sandbagging — a practice akin to cheating. (There is no worse infraction in the game other than perhaps recording a score on the scorecard lower than what you had. This sad practice is called "winning with the eraser!")

Ultimately, if left unchecked by his peers, the sandbagger causes other people to stop playing in events since they know they have no real opportunity to win.

I'm excited to announce that the members of the Hawai'i State Golf Association and the Aloha Section PGA are working closely together to stop sandbagging, and provide the opportunity for every golfer in Hawai'i to play under the same rules and the GHIN handicap system, the same system supported by the founding fathers of golf in America, the United States Golf Association.

For more information, see your local Aloha Section PGA Professional or go online to Hawaiistategolf.org or call the HSGA office at 589-2909.