Stableford Scoring in Golf Explained: Score Points, Not Strokes
A general strategy for success in golf is to play conservatively. Golfers often follow the philosophy of avoiding big mistakes and taking calculated risks because the lowest score usually wins. In the Stableford scoring system, the highest score wins. How does that change the strategy? It pays to play aggressively and take risks. Playing in a Stableford, sometimes referred to as a shootout, requires a completely different mindset. A Stableford is golf’s version of a high-scoring basketball game.
How Stableford Scoring Works
In most tournaments, golfers want to finish with the lowest score relative to par. If a golf course has a par of 72, the golfer that shoots the lowest score wins. In a Stableford, you still try to get the lowest possible score on each hole. But the score you get on an individual hole is assigned a point value. The player with the most points at the end of the tournament wins. Below is a look at the individual scoring.
Double Eagle: A double eagle is worth 5 points. A double eagle is 3 under par for a hole. It would be a score of 2 on a par 5. It’s the rarest score in golf.
Eagle: An eagle, which is 2 under par for a hole, is worth 4 points.
Birdie: A birdie, which is 1 under par for a hole, is worth 3 points.
Par: A par is worth 2 points.
Bogie: A bogie is worth 1 point.
Double Bogie: A double bogie or worse is worth 0 points.
In a professional tournament, golfers won't be assigned handicaps. That means they don’t receive strokes based on their scoring history. In most local tournaments, golfers’ handicaps are accounted for in the scoring. That means the golfers don’t necessarily have to get a “natural” birdie to score 3 points. A net birdie counts as 3 points. For instance, if a golfer has an 18 handicap, they are given 1 stroke per hole. If the first hole is a par 4, and the golfer makes a 4 on it, it’s a net birdie or a 3 because 1 stroke is subtracted from their score on each hole. Because golfers are trying to accumulate as many points as possible, it’s beneficial for them to try to make the lowest scores possible on each hole.
In a modified Stableford scoring system, players lose a point for a bogie and 3 points for any score worse than a double bogie. The points awarded for any score better than a bogie don’t change.
In a traditional tournament, you might only go for birdies in select situations because you want to avoid making a “big” number. Golfers aren’t penalized for making a big number in a Stableford. They just don’t get rewarded. A bad hole in a Stableford format can quickly be made up with a few birdies on the next few holes. A big number in a traditional tournament can be hard to completely recover from.
How to Add Up Points in a Stableford
For a scratch golfer or someone without a 0 handicap, you simply add up the number of points you scored and the highest total wins. If a player made 4 birdies, an eagle, 10 pars, and 2 bogies, their point totals would be 38 for the round. The 4 birdies are worth 12 points, the eagle is worth 4 points, the 10 pars are worth 20 points and the 2 bogies are worth 2 points. If it’s a 36-hole event over 2 days, the player with highest point total after the second day is the winner.
History of the Stableford
In 1932, the Stableford system of scoring was created as an alternative to traditional scoring by Dr. Frank Barney Gorton Stableford. Gorton Stableford played at Wallasey Golf Club in Wales. Gorton Stableford wanted a system of scoring that didn’t wreck a golfer’s score because of 1 bad hole. Sometimes playing into the wind at Wallasey made some holes extremely difficult to par or even bogie. Gorton Stableford experimented with a point-based system in 1898 at a different club, but the players generally didn’t like it. The Stableford scoring system has been used occasionally on the Professional Golf Association (PGA) in tournaments over the years. It’s more popular among local amateur golfers, who don’t want to have to worry about a few bad holes ruining their round.
Why Golfers Love Stableford
A Stableford format often favors a player who likes to play aggressively. It allows golfers to try to make spectacular shots without risk. It’s a different approach than having to constantly worry about staying away from “trouble.” Below are some advantages to playing a Stableford.
Speeds Up Play: Because you can pick up after you’ve made double bogey, the pace of play is usually faster in a Stableford than it is in a traditional scoring tournament.
You Can Rally: While it’s possible to come from behind in any format, a Stableford is designed for big swings in scoring. In traditional golf, if you finish with an 8 on a par 4, it’s very hard to recover from. In a Stableford, the 8 doesn’t count against your score. It just means you’re not picking up points.
Different Mindset: A Stableford frees up golfers to try different shots and to try to hit it close to pins they normally might not go for in a regular tournament. It’s a change of pace from a traditional tournament, where the emphasis is on minimizing mistakes.
The Stableford scoring system is a great alternative to traditional scoring. It can be fun for beginners and experienced players who prefer a bolder style of play.
