Stableford

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Stableford is a scoring system used in the sport of golf. Rather than counting the total number of strokes taken, as in regular stroke play, it involves scoring points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole. Unlike traditional scoring methods, where the aim is to have the lowest score, under Stableford rules, the objective is to have the highest score.

The Stableford system was developed by Frank Barney Gorton Stableford (1870–1959), to deter golfers from giving up on their round after just one or two bad holes.
It was first used informally at the Glamorganshire Golf Club, Penarth, Wales, in 1898, and first used in competition at Wallasey Golf Club in Wallasey, England, in 1932. 

Between his membership of the Glamorganshire and Wallasey Golf Clubs, Stableford was a member at Anglesey Golf Club North Wales, for most of the 1920s.

Stableford can have the added benefit of speeding up the pace of play, as once it is no longer possible to score a point, players do not have to complete the hole but can simply pick up their ball and proceed to the next hole.

It is a popular form of the game, especially at club level and particularly in the United Kingdom, as it is still possible to record a competitive score despite having the occasional bad hole.

The number of points awarded on each hole is determined based on comparison of the number of strokes taken to a PAR.

 The score is then adjusted in relation to the player's handicap. Once players have taken two strokes more than the adjusted fixed score (Par + handicap), they may abandon the hole and move on to the next, as it is then not possible to score any points on that hole.
Because of this, it is still possible to be competitive even allowing for a few bad holes. 

At the end of the round, the number of points scored on each hole is totaled to give a final score. The winner of a Stableford competition is the player with the highest point total.

Par -3   = 5 points

Par -2   = 4 points

Par -1   = 3 points 

Par         = 2 points 

Par +1  = 1 point 

Par > 2 = 0 point

All penalties that apply in stroke play apply in Stableford, except that a player who breaches any of these five Rules is not disqualified but gets zero points for the hole where the breach happened:

• Failure to hole out under Rule 3.3c,
• Failure to correct mistake of playing from outside the teeing area in starting a hole (see Rule 6.1b(2)),
• Failure to correct mistake of playing a wrong ball (see Rule 6.3c),
• Failure to correct mistake of playing from a wrong place when there is a serious breach (see Rule 14.7b), or
• Failure to correct mistake of making a stroke in the wrong order (see Rule 22.3). 

If the player breaches any other Rule with a penalty of disqualification, the player is disqualified. After applying any penalty strokes, the player’s Stableford score for a hole cannot be lower than zero points.