Amateurs across the world are indebted to Dr Frank Barney Gorton Stableford. As Henry Longhurst put it, “I doubt whether any single man did more to increase the pleasure of the humble club golfer.”
When playing at Wallasey Golf Club in 1931, Stableford devised a points-based scoring system designed to allow the average golfer to better enjoy a competitive round. It was something of a success.
An alternative to simple strokeplay, the Stableford system has become the go-to scoring system for amateurs across the globe. It allows players who have a bad hole to stay in the game.
How Does Stableford Work
The Stableford system is popular because it should speed up play. Those who are having a nightmare on a single hole can simply pick up and try again on the next hole. You don’t have to finish every hole to return a total Stableford score.
The system works by awarding points based on your nett score (your handicap adjusted score) on each hole. Points are awarded as such:
6 points – Four strokes under
5 points – Three strokes under
4 points – Two strokes under
3 points – One stroke under
2 points – Level par
1 point – One stroke over
0 points – Two strokes or more over
At the end of the round, your total points for each hole are added together and the player with the highest total Stableford score is the winner.
How is my handicap allocated in Stableford
(Image credit: Tom Miles)
Handicap is allocated to holes by their Stroke Index. A player with a Playing Handicap of 18 will receive a shot on each hole. That means, if they make a gross bogey it will equate to a nett par and they will receive 2 points on the hole.
A player with a Playing Handicap of 9 will receive shots on holes with Stroke Indexes 1-9. A five handicapper on holes with Stroke Indexes 1-5, and so on.
A player with a handicap higher than 18 will receive more than one shot at some holes. A player with a Playing Handicap of 28 for instance will receive two shots on the holes with Stroke Indexes 1-10, just one shot on holes with Stroke Indexes 11-18.
A player with a plus figure handicap will have…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…