Golf has many different rules and a long list of terms, of which stroke index is just one. If you’re new to the game, this is an important one to familiarise yourself with, as it’s key to working out scoring in various competitions. You don’t want to be one of those saying, ‘How many points did I score there?’ on every hole.
The Rules of Golf states that “The Committee is responsible for publishing on the scorecard or somewhere else that is visible (for example, near the 1st tee) the order of holes at which handicap strokes are to be given or received.” This Rule – 5I (4) – requires that a club decides upon and allocates “Stroke Index.”
HOW DOES THE STROKE INDEX WORK IN GOLF?
Each of the 18 holes receives a unique stroke index number (1-18). These are listed for each hole on the scorecard or somewhere visible. Sometimes it’s shortened to SI or appears as hcp. These strokes indexes are designed to allow for handicap matches.
A strokeplay match between players of unequal handicaps is simple to determine – deduct each player’s Playing Handicap from the gross score and you get the net score – and lowest net score wins.
What about matchplay? Well, let’s say Sarah has to give Linda four shots during the round. Linda will receive these shots on stroke index holes 1-4 (not holes 1-4). Simple.
HOW DOES THE STROKE INDEX WORK WITH STABLEFORD?
Stroke index is also used in other competitions, such as Stableford – which, for a lot of clubs, is the most common competition format on the club calendar.
Here, points are earned on each hole in relation to each golfer’s net par for the hole. Net par is calculated using stroke index.
Let’s say Steve gets 10 shots – this is one extra shot on holes with a stroke index 1-10 inclusive. Brian gets 19 shots, which means two extra shots on the stroke index 1 hole and one extra shot on all the others. Is Brian a bandit? Let’s not go down that rabbit hole in this piece.
WHAT DOES STROKE INDEX MEAN ON A GOLF SCORECARD?
It’s a bit of a misconception that it’s a ranking of holes in terms of difficulty – so 1 is the hardest and 18 the easiest. It’s not quite that simple.
Here’s why. Stroke index was designed for matchplay. It’s rare that the 1st has a low stroke index, in case the match is tied after 18 holes…
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