Unlike other professional sports, golf has rules that are strictly adhered to, even to the point where a player must call the infraction on himself or herself. Most of the time these penalties are just, but even when they are seemingly unjust, the consequences are strictly enforced.

This is not to bash other professional sports. But when was the last time a lineman called clipping on himself, or a center freely admitted to a goal-tending call, or an outfielder told an umpire he didn’t’ catch the ball; he trapped it?

Golf is different, which is why we accept the most recent disqualifications of Michelle Wie and Kevin Stadler without protest. Sure, both players seemingly had a case for atonement, but the rules are black and white, and all gray areas seem to favor “The Rules of Golf’’ and not the player.

Of the two DQs, the Wie infraction got the most headlines, chiefly because the 16-year-old sensation was making her professional debut. Given her prior $10 million endorsement contracts from Nike and Sony, I’m sure some observers said, “She got what she deserved. She should have known the rules if she wants to be a professional.’’

That’s true, even if -- surprise, surprise! -- a lot of pros don’t know the rules. But I’m not sure Wie got what she deserved. If she did take a drop from an unplayable lie and did actually move the ball closer to the hole during the third round of Saturday’s Samsung Championship in Palm Desert, Calif., then she deserved a two-stroke penalty.

But why did Sports Illustrated senior reporter Michael Bamberger wait until Sunday to report the infraction instead of doing it immediately, or before Wie signed an incorrect scorecard Saturday and subsequently was disqualified? Bamberger’s rationale for not reporting the infraction ASAP was he was on deadline in a “reporter’s mode.’’ But this happened on the seventh hole -- 11 holes before she completed her third round -- so I’m not buying it.

Believe it or not, Bamberger once caddied on the PGA Tour, and should have known his whistle-blowing timetable would disqualify Wie. Bamberger also violated one of the principles of journalism, as reporters are not supposed to become part of the story. Unwittingly, Bamberger also put a whole new spin on “the SI jinx.’’

Further more, another very well-respected reporter, James Achenbach of Golfweek, also was on the scene of Wie’s drop on Saturday, and came away with a completely different view.

“I was standing 5 feet away when Michelle Wie declared an unplayable lie, carefully measured two club lengths with her driver, and dropped the ball,’’ Achenbach wrote. “To those of us who clustered around her when she made the drop, the ball didn’t appear to come to rest closer to the hole.’’

Hmmm. Evidentally we’re talking about an alleged advantage that arguably was 3 inches to 12 inches closer to the hole, at best. No one knows for sure because the ruling was a re-enactment based on a TV clip. But given the gray matter, the ruling went against Wie.

The best thing to come out of this controversy was that Wie handled it like a pro. She didn’t trash talk to the rules official, didn’t complain to the media, or even make an idle threat. “I made an error. I respect the rule,’’ she said. “I learned a great lesson.’’

Stadler’s DQ falls under the category of “Can this be fair?” The Scottsdale pro was disqualified for using a nonconforming club, in this case a lob wedge with a bent shaft. A shaft, it might be noted, that was bent unknowingly, according to Stadler.

The damaged club was discovered by Stadler on the first hole of Sunday’s final round of the Michelin Championship at Las Vegas. At the time, he was three shots off the lead, and desperately needed a good finish in the tournament to retain his PGA card, as he was 163 rd on the money list with a month to go in the season.

To his credit, Stadler contacted a rules official, Slugger White, who upon reviewing the rule told Stadler on the seventh hole that he had been disqualified. Even White didn’t like what he had to say.

“It made me sick,’’ White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

White might have added that it’s a silly rule, because obviously a bent shaft is not going to help a player cheat. The rule was intended as a strong deterrent to illegal equipment like hot drivers and balls, not broken clubs.

You can almost bet that the U.S. Golf Association will amend the nonconforming club rule in the future, much like it did recently involving the scorecard ruling that struck down Mark Roe at the 2003 British Open. So nothing really good came of the Stadler ruling, unless he uses it as inspiration to somehow break through and join the top 125 money-winners.

Without question, these were hard rulings to swallow, but at the same time, nobody got hurt. And, fortunately, golf still has rules, which is why every parent should want their kid to play the game.