Golf Reference -
Stableford Play Formats
Stableford scoring
systems are stroke-play formats in which the high total wins, not the
low. That's because in Stableford, your final score is not your stroke
total, but rather the total points you have earned for your scores on
each individual hole.
For example, a par might be worth 1 point, a birdie 2. If you par the
first hole and birdie the second, you've accrued 3 points.
As a format for club tournaments, Stableford formats are more popular in
the U.K. than in the U.S. On the pro tours, both the U.S. PGA Tour and
the European Tour have a Modified Stableford tournament: The
International on the PGA Tour and the ANZ Championship on the European
Tour.
Stableford in the Rule Book
Stableford Competitions are addressed in the Rules of Golf under Rule
32.
Stableford is a form of stroke play and, with few exceptions, the rules
for stroke play apply.
The rulebook also sets forth points totals for a Stableford competition
(Stableford tournaments that award points on a different scale than this
are known as Modified Stableford):
More than one over fixed score or no score returned - 0 points
One over fixed score - 1 point
Fixed score - 2 points
One under fixed score - 3 points
Two under fixed score - 4 points
Three under fixed score - 5 points
Four under fixed score - 6 points
The "fixed score" in question is set by the tournament committee. If the
fixed score is set as bogey, then a triple bogey is worth 0 points, a
double bogey 1 point, a bogey 2 points, a par 3 points, and so on (the
committee might also set the fixed score as a numerical value - say, 6
strokes - as opposed to a relative value).
The rules differences for Stableford as compared to normal stroke play
have to do with the penalties applied for breaking rules. In some
instances (for example, exceeding the 14-club maximum), points are
deducted from the competitor, as opposed to a stroke penalty. There are
also a number of violations that result in disqualification. The rundown
of rules differences in Stableford can be found in the notes to Rule
32-1b and in Rule 32-2.
Modified Stableford on Tour
The International on the PGA Tour and ANZ Championship on the European
Tour use a Modified Stableford format (so-called because its points are
awarded on a different scale from that described in the rulebook).
Both pro tournaments use the same points scale:
Double bogey or worse - minus-3 points
Bogey - minus-1 point
Par - 0 points
Birdie - 2 points
Eagle - 5 points
Double eagle - 8 points
The difference between a rulebook Stableford and a Modified Stableford
is usually reflected in the quality of the players. A traditional
Stableford is appropriate for "normal" golfers (e.g., you and me), most
of whom aren't going to be racking up birdies left and right. Therefore,
the traditional Stableford's points system doesn't penalize players with
negative points.
The pros, however, are in a different league. And the Modified
Stableford used on the PGA and European tours harshly penalizes a
disaster hole, but offers even greater rewards for very good holes.
From:
http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/a/stablefordintro.htm
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