Mr. Jockularity

What's an acceptable level of cheating when playing a leisurely round of golf fellow duffers?--Troy, Sarasota, Fla.

The beauty of stinking at golf and playing amongst your own kind is that nobody cares how much you bend the comically oppressive and aggrandized rules of the game (unless money and/or refreshments are at stake).The question is: How much do you care? I'll give you some guidelines you might agree to cheat by. Mulligans: one per nine. Penalty strokes: if you're wet, yes; if you're in the woods, only if you can't find your ball--that's your ball--within 2 minutes. Which brings me to playable lies: If you can find one more to your liking within a club length or three, go ahead and take it--just don't abuse the privilege. What constitutes abuse? Bending (or obliterating, depending on one's purview) the rules to the extent your playmates cast doubt on your scores even when you achieved them honestly. Again, they won't mind--they might even enjoy the feeling of superiority-but you probably will.

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