How to play Stableford in golf
Stableford is the friendliest way to play a round with mates. Instead of counting every stroke, you score points on each hole, so one blow-up hole doesn’t ruin your day. The highest points total wins.
- Players
- 2 or more
- Scoring
- Points on every hole, from your net score
- Best for
- Any group, any mix of handicaps
How the points work
- Net eagle (2 under par): 4 points
- Net birdie (1 under): 3 points
- Net par: 2 points
- Net bogey (1 over): 1 point
- Net double bogey or worse: 0 points
Your net score is your gross score minus the handicap strokes you get on that hole. Points come from your net score against par:
Handicap strokes
Everyone plays off their full course handicap, using the stroke index on the card (1 is the hardest hole, 18 the easiest). A 14 handicap gets one stroke on stroke index 1 to 14. A 22 handicap gets one stroke on every hole, plus a second on stroke index 1 to 4.
A plus handicap works the other way: a +2 gives a stroke back on stroke index 18 and 17, so a par there counts as a net bogey.
An example hole
A par 4, stroke index 5. Sam (handicap 12) takes 5: he gets a stroke, so that’s a net par and 2 points. Alex (handicap 3) takes 4: no stroke, a par, 2 points. Jo (handicap 20) takes 7: one stroke, a net double bogey, 0 points.
Pick up when you’re out of it
Once you can’t score a point on a hole, there’s no need to finish it: pick up and walk to the next tee. It keeps the round moving and costs you nothing.
Ties: the countback
If players finish on the same points, the usual tie-break is a countback: most points over the back 9, then the last 6, then the last 3, then the 18th hole.
Scoring Stableford with LiveBirdies
Each player enters their gross score and LiveBirdies works out the strokes, net scores and points, with a live leaderboard and the countback done for you. You can also show Stableford points alongside any other game.