HOW TO: Work Out Stableford Scoring
HOW TO: Work out Stableford Scoring
If you're new to the game and in particular the Stableford scoring method, or even if you're a regular golfer that's not sure how to work out scores with larger handicaps, we have all the info for you right here....
First Note: There is a maximum score for Sevens Golf of Double Par per hole for all players, regardless of having a GolfLINK handicap or otherwise.
So maximum scores that you can have on:
A par-3 hole – 6 strokes
A par-4 hole – 8 strokes
A par-5 hole – 10 strokes
Even if you score more than this (which you shouldn’t because you should pick up your ball when you get to double par anyway) you must write down 6, 8, or 10 as your score, depending on what par the hole is. There is no such thing as a 12 or a 15 or a 24 on a hole.
Now, the normal course (and your Sevens handicap) is over 18 holes. So, if you had a handicap of 18, the Stableford scoring system says that you are entitled to add 1 extra stroke to the par of each of the 18 holes on the course, thus using up all of your 18 handicap. eg. a par-4 for you is now a par-5, a par-3 is now a par 4, and a par 5 is now a par 6.
If you score equal to your par you earn 2 Stableford points. For every stroke you take above your par you must deduct a point from 2, and for every stroke you have less than your par you get to add an extra point above 2.
eg. You are an 18-handicap golfer and Hole 1 is a par-4, but with your handicap becomes a par 5. You score a 6 on the hole, so you get 1 point (1 shot more than par, deduct 1pt from 2 = 1pt). If you scored a 5, you would get 2 points as it equals your par, if you scored a 4 you would get 3 points as you had one better than par. So the aim is to get as many points as possible.
OK, so we know that with a handicap of 18 you get to add 1 shot to the par of each hole, because there is 18-holes on the course.
So how do we work out bigger handicaps?
Well, it’s not that difficult. Because the course and your handicap is over 18-holes we work in multiples of 18.
A 36 handicap would be 2 shots added to par per hole (2 x 18 = 36)
A 54 handicap would be 3 shots added to par per hole (3 x 18 = 54)
A 72 handicap would be 4 shots added to par per hole (4 x 18 = 72)
They are the easy ones as they are all multiples of 18, but what do you do if your handicap is not one of the above?
What we do is work off the nearest multiple of 18 below your handicap, and then add the difference to the hardest holes on the course.
eg. You have a handicap of 42. The nearest multiple of 18 below your handicap is 36. 36 is 2 shots added to par on every hole, so we say a 42 handicap is 36 + 6.
What do we do with the + 6 to make up our full handicap of 42?
We add a third shot to the par on the hardest 6 holes.
On your scorecards, the INDEX column shows the difficulty rating of each hole, 1 is the most difficult and 18 the easiest. So if you had an extra 6 shots to use up, as we do above, you would add a third shot to par on the holes with index 1-6.
You should then put a circle around index 1-6, add three shots to the par of those holes and write down your par on the side of the card somewhere next to the hole number, then with the rest you add two shots to par. Now you have a reference when you’re out on the course as to what score you need to shoot to earn 2 stableford points for each hole.
In the example above you are a male golfer with a handicap of 10. Think of it as 0 + 10. No extra shots on any hole except on index 1-10. Circle mens index 1-10 and add one shot to par on those holes only, writing your par on the side of the card as a reference for 2pts.
In the example above you are a female golfer with a handicap of 42. Think of it as 36 + 6. Two shots added to par on every hole (36), plus a third on index 1-6. Circle ladies index 1-6 and add three shots to par on those holes and two on the rest. Write in your par on the side of the score card for reference.
In the example above you are a female golfer with a handicap of 67. Think of it as 54 + 13. Three shots added to par on every hole (54), plus a fourth on index 1-13. Circle index 1-13 and add four shots to par on those holes and three on the rest. Write down your par scores on the side of the score card for reference. Note: In this example, scores of more than double par on the 2nd and 6th holes were adjusted down to the maximum of double par, then the Stableford points are applied.
In the example above you are a male golfer with a handicap of 28. Think of it as 18 + 10. One shot added to par on every hole (18), plus a second on index 1-10. Circle mens index 1-10 and add two shots to par on those holes, and one on the rest. Write in your par on the side of the score card for reference. Note: That double par scores on the 12th, 13th and 14th in this example do not earn Stableford points as it is two more than the players par score of 6, earning 0 points anyway.
In the example above you are a male golfer with a handicap of 58. Think of it as 54 + 4. Three shots added to par on every hole (54), plus a fourth on index 1-4. Circle mens index 1-4 and add four shots to par on those holes and three on the rest. Write in your par on the side of the score card for reference. Note: Scores of more than double par on the 13th and 16th holes were adjusted to the maximum score and Stableford points then applied.
So always work back to the nearest multiple of 18 below your handicap, and add the difference to the hardest holes according to the appropriate INDEX.
But I am a 72-handicap golfer and was told that I should get around 18 points total for nine holes at the worst?
In the case of a maximum 72 handicap, it’s an easy one because it’s a multiple of 18. You get four extra shots added to par on every hole.
So for a 72-handicap player: A par-3 becomes a par 7 (2pts), A par-4 becomes a par 8 (2pts), and a par-5 becomes a par 9 (2pts).
Now the double par rule comes into play because on a par-3 hole you can only score a maximum of 6. A 6 will give you 3 points as it’s one shot below your par of 7. So as a 72-handicap golfer, before you even tee off on a par-3 hole you are guaranteed 3 points! It doesn’t matter if you have 6 air swings or even if you lose your ball, you can only have 6 / 3pts at the worst. You can’t even have a 7 / 2pts. A score of 5 would give you 4pts, a score of 4 would give you 5pts etc.
The same goes for par-4’s, where your par is 8. An 8 is also the worst score you can have because it’s double par. So as a 72-handicap golfer, you are guaranteed 8 / 2pts. A score of 7 would give you 3pts, a score of 6 would give you 4pts etc. You cannot score a 9 / 1pt, as 9 is more than the maximum score of double par.
On a par-5 hole your par is 9. Double 5 is 10 as your max score. A score of 10 would earn you 1 point as it’s one more than your par score of 9. So you are guaranteed 10 / 1pt. A score of 9 would give you 2pts, a score of 8 would give you 3pts etc.
Therefore, if there is an equal number of par-3's and par-5's over the nine holes, the worst score you can shoot is 18 points. Once your handicap drops below the maximum, however, you are guaranteed less and less points for shooting the maximum score.
