Most people know the basic rules of golf, even if they don’t play.

The game is scored in strokes. Players try to get the lowest score by having the least amount of strokes over the number of holes played. The score also can be expressed in terms of par. Each hole has a par, which is the expected number of strokes a golfer should need to get the ball into the hole. Add the pars up and you find the course’s par. You can express your score as plus or minus par. If the 18-hole course is par 75 and you score an 80, you had plus 5. In the U.S. Open on Sunday, Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate tied at minus 1, which required an 18-hole playoff Monday.

While watching the tournament on television, there were commercials from the U.S. Golf Association about how golf is a sport unlike others because the players have to enforce the rules. It’s an honor system.

It made me curious. Let’s go over some rules. Not etiquette, mind you. Rules. My source is the USGA rulebook. Ask that duffer across the room from you these questions:

What is the maximum number of clubs you can carry?

You are allowed to start a round with no more than 14 clubs, and you are limited to the clubs you brought. If you break these rules, there is a two-stroke penalty at each hole, maximum four strokes per round.

Can you replace a damaged club?

If your club is simply damaged, you may use the damaged club for the remainder of the round. You cannot borrow another person’s club. You can repair it if it does not delay play. (Imagine the grip pops off and you slide it back on.) If the club is unfit for play altogether — broken, not just damaged — and you are an amateur, you can replace it — not borrow — if it doesn’t delay play. In other words, send a caddie or a buddy not playing to the pro shop while you continue to play with your other clubs.

Can you clean a dirty ball?

Not while it is in play unless you are in a situation allowing you to lift the ball. So if you rub dirt off of your ball, even if you don’t move it, that’s a one-stroke penalty. Of course, you can clean the ball between holes. And it is permissible to lift a ball on the putting green as long as you mark its position. Failing to mark carries a one-stroke penalty. There are a few other instances where balls can be lifted, mostly for odd situations such as abnormal ground condition, such as hitting the ball into a hole made by a burrowing animal or ground under repair. But even then you must mark the ball or face a penalty. I noticed Mediate marked his ball in sudden death when it was in the photographers’ area by the wall.

If you hit the ball into a hole made by a dog, it is not an abnormal ground condition. Aren’t these rules crazy? But, like in football, they make perfect sense to the players and fans.

OK, when can you move a ball?

If you hit a ball into a hole made by a burrowing animal, such as a groundhog or snake, or any other abnormal ground condition, such as casual water, you are entitled to relief. That means you can lift the ball, without a penalty, and drop it within one club-length of the animal’s hole — or whatever the object was — and not nearer to the golf hole.

If the ball is blocked by an obstruction — artificial objects such as stakes or walls or an outhouse — you get the same relief.

Other times you move a ball usually involves a penalty. Say you hit it into a water hazard. There is a one-stroke penalty. Then you can either hit the ball from where you first hit it or drop it behind where the ball crossed the edge of the water. There is no limit on how far behind that spot.

Say you hit it out of bounds, the penalty is stroke and distance. You have a one-stroke penalty, plus you have to hit the ball as nearly as possible to the spot from which the ball was last played. Unlike a water hazard, you don’t get to play from near the boundary line.

What if I lose the ball?

Technically, you get five minutes to find the ball. The rulebook encourages good sportsmanship, so fellow golfers probably will help you. If it is not found, it has the same penalty as out of bounds unless, of course, it was lost in an abnormal ground condition or an obstruction. So if you hit the ball into the portable outhouse, you won’t incur a penalty and you can drop the ball near the outhouse. If it was simply lost, you have to hoof it back to where you first hit it and incur the one-stroke penalty. This and out of bounds are tough rules.

What if I hit the ball immediately behind a tree?

You either have to play it as it lies or declare the ball unplayable. You can’t kick it into a better spot, though that is tempting. In fact, you can be anywhere — except out of bounds or in a water hazard — and declare your ball unplayable. You are the sole judge. If your ball is lost, of course, you don’t have a ball to declare in the first place. So don’t try it.

What does “unplayable” get you?

You incur a penalty of one stroke, and you get three choices:

-Play the ball as nearly as possible from the spot you originally hit it. You probably don’t want to do this option.

-Drop a ball — it doesn’t have to be the same one — behind where the ball lay and on a line anywhere directly away from the hole. In other words, draw a visual line between the hole and the ball and back up. Then hold out your arm and drop the ball.

-Drop the ball within two club-lengths of where the ball lay but not closer to the hole.

What if I declare my ball unplayable in a bunker?

OK, wise guy, if you choose the second or third options, you have to drop the ball in the bunker.

What if my ball lands in a tree?

You can scale the tree and try to hit the ball. Or you can declare the ball unplayable.

Does a whiff count as a stroke?

Any time you attempt to hit the ball, it counts. Intent is the key.

Can players agree to waive the rules?

If they do, they become disqualified. The only exception is for the sake of playing out of turn. Even then, it can’t be done to give one player an advantage.

There are plenty more rules. There are even rules for when you can take practice strokes. Uff-da!

Tribune Managing Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.