What are the most common penalties in club competitions?

The 2023 Rules of Golf (Rule 1.3c) have three main penalty levels, and neither you nor the Committee can vary them:

• One-stroke penalty (both match play and stroke play): applies where the potential advantage is minor, or when you take penalty relief by playing from a different place than where the original ball lies. Examples: stroke-and-distance relief for a lost ball or out of bounds (Rule 18.2), unplayable ball relief (Rule 19.2), penalty area relief (Rule 17.1d), and a first breach of the unreasonable delay Rule (Rule 5.6a).
• General penalty (two strokes in stroke play, loss of hole in match play): applies to most other breaches. Examples: playing a wrong ball (Rule 6.3c), playing from a wrong place (Rule 14.7a), and carrying more than 14 clubs (Rule 4.1b, with its own maximum).
• Disqualification: for serious misconduct, or where the advantage is too significant for the score to be valid. Examples: returning a scorecard with a hole score lower than the actual score (Rule 3.3b), or not correcting a wrong-ball mistake before playing the next hole or returning your card.

A penalty also applies when your caddie breaches a Rule, or when someone acts at your request or with your authority. It also applies if you see someone about to do something to your ball or equipment that you know would breach the Rules and you do not take reasonable steps to stop it.