When does a general penalty of two strokes apply during a stroke play event?

In stroke play, a general penalty of two strokes is applied in situations where rules are clearly violated. When a player plays from the wrong tee, it is considered a breach of the rules, as players must start from the designated tee markers for each hole. This situation directly impacts the flow of the game and the integrity of play because it could give an unfair advantage or change the difficulty of the hole.

The other scenarios do involve penalties, but they do not incur a general penalty of two strokes. For example, forgetting to sign the scorecard leads to disqualification if it is not corrected, while being late to a tee time usually results in a loss of the right to play the hole, and using a non-conforming club can result in the disqualification of the player's score for the round. Thus, the application of the two-stroke penalty for playing from the wrong tee is a clear and direct consequence in accordance with the rules of golf.