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Bill I completely agree there are times when you make a decision because you think it is the right way to proceed. However there are rules, and if you are not sure how to proceed or have a question the rules allow for remedies. At the very least you have a responsibility to inform the committee of your actions.
As I said earlier, when there is a question you have the option of playing a second ball and when the round is over you can get a ruling. You also have the option of proceeding how you feel is right and then explaining what you did after the round and asking for a ruling. Neither of these do not add five minutes to your round.
I try not to be a pain about the rules, as I said 95% of the time, I inform someone when they have broken a rule and do not assess a penalty. Imagine this. You hit a ball into the rough, you play it out of the rough because you believe it is the right thing to do and hit it a few inches and the ball stays in the rough. You do your best to play the hole and score a double primarily because your ball landed in the rough. Now you lose the tournament by one stroke and find out a few days later the golfer who won the tournament by one stroke also hit his ball into the same rough. You also find out he applied an improper interpretation of the rules, and took free relief from the same rough you played out of. He does not notify the committee and he wins the tournament by one stroke.
There are times you must apply the rules “to protect the field”, or at the very least inform the committee of actions taken on the course so they can make decisions that could affect the outcome of the tournament.