Does anyone think the out-of-bounds rule is rational? Stroke and distance seems like being penalized twice for one infraction.

Harvey Penick even said so in his Little Red Book:

“If you smash a drive a long way but the ball lands an inch out of bounds, the penalty is stroke and distance—in effect a two-shot punishment for what was nearly a good drive.”

A writer for Golf Digest went around with several rules authorities and came up with this article about it.

After you have read the article, I will be back tomorrow with a conversation I had with a rules maven about it several years ago.