I play lots of golf, and it's golf no matter what rules I apply, but I don't compete with anyone but myself. Almost everyone at the golf course where I play does the same thing. Our rules differ, but we're all playing golf, and some of us are even enjoying some friendly competition with friends, by rules to which everyone agreed, and always different than what the R&A or USGA say.
If, the first time I went to an actual golf course, I hit the ball into a bush and was told I had to drop the ball behind the bush (by rule the bush is almost always between where you have to drop and the hole) and had to hit over or around the bush time after time, I would probably never go back. No disagreements, no arguments, just a game that, when played by the strictest of rules, is no fun for a beginner.
