Stableford
A scoring format based on points per hole instead of total strokes, where a bad hole costs you less than in regular stroke play.
Points are awarded per hole based on your score relative to par:
- Bogey: 1 point
- Par: 2 points
- Birdie: 3 points
- Eagle: 4 points
- Albatross: 5 points
- Worse than bogey: 0 points
Most club events actually play net Stableford: your handicap strokes are applied hole by hole first, so it's your net score relative to par that earns the points, not your raw score. A blow-up hole can only cost you a 0, never more, which is why one bad hole can't wreck an entire round the way it can in stroke play. Playing exactly to your handicap works out to 36 points over 18 holes, a handy benchmark for how a round is actually going.
See the related guide: Golf handicap
A full explanation, in plain language.