Golf is known as a sport that players often call penalties on themselves, penalties that usually have not been noticed by anyone else. These examples of sportsmanship usually receive some media coverage, in part because they are growing ever more rare in sports today.

In last week's PGA Tour event, the Honda Classic, golfer Mark Wilson's caddie broke a rule when he told another player's caddie what club Wilson used for a particular shot. Doing so is considered giving advice, which is a rule violation. Wilson immediately told a tour official, who assessed Wilson a two-stroke penalty for his caddie's actions.

Undeterred, Wilson overcame the penalty to finish in a four-way tie for first at the end of 72 holes. Of course, one could say that Wilson would have won his first PGA title, and more than $900,000, if he didn't assess himself the two-stroke penalty, but Wilson didn't look at it that way.

Instead, Wilson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the third playoff hole to win the title, the oversized check golfers always get and the respect of his peers and sports fans everywhere for his honesty and sportsmanship in the heat of competition.

Calling the penalty on himself reduced Wilson's chances to win, but he didn't consider any other action because it was the right thing to do. We as parents and coaches of youth sports athletes would do well to share stories like this with our kids, and to act this way ourselves.