Stableford

Quick answer. In Stableford every hole earns points, and the most points wins. A bad hole costs you only the points from that hole, so a pickup or a big number does not sink the day. The board counts points on each golfer's score after handicap strokes. Two settings change it: Modified Stableford pays more for good holes and takes points off bad ones, and Play as Quota scores against a target for each golfer.

Who can do this: an Admin or an Organizer picks the format and the point rules. Everyone with the link can read the board.

Before you start

Make the event with Stableford as the format. Points are counted after handicap strokes, so check the Handicap setting on Event settings too. Our practice event used Full (100%). Set up your event in four steps covers the event itself. Decide which of the three ways to score you want before the day, because they give very different numbers.

The steps

1. Pick the point rules. On the event page, press Edit in the Event Details box to open Event settings. Find the Stableford points group. It has two boxes. Leave both empty for ordinary Stableford. Tick Play as Quota (points against a per-player target) to play against a quota. Tick Modified Stableford (eagle 5, birdie 2, bogey −1) for the modified table. Press Save Changes.
2. Score as usual. Golfers enter their strokes hole by hole, as in How scoring works on game day. Nobody enters points. The board works them out.
3. Open the board. Press View Leaderboard. The columns are the place, the player, THRU, POINTS and PTS +/-. Open the Stableford format box for the one-line rule: "Players earn points on each hole based on score relative to par. Higher points rank higher."
4. Read the points. For ordinary Stableford, each hole's points come from the golfer's net score against par. Net par earns 2. A net bogey earns 1. A net double bogey or worse earns 0. A net birdie earns 3, a net eagle earns 4 and a net score three under par or better earns 5. The PTS +/- column is the golfer's points compared with 36, which is par for 18 holes at 2 points a hole.
5. Modified. With Modified Stableford ticked, the table is a net score three under par or better 8, net eagle 5, net birdie 2, net par 0, net bogey −1, and a net double bogey or worse −3. Points can go below zero. PTS +/- is then just the golfer's points.
6. Quota. With Play as Quota ticked, each golfer's target is 36 minus their handicap. Their points come from their raw gross score on the ordinary table, so handicap strokes are not used on the holes. The columns become POINTS and VS QUOTA, and VS QUOTA is points minus the target. Beat your quota and it is a plus. Quota uses the ordinary table. If both boxes are ticked, Quota wins and the modified table is not used.

What you should see

Here is a hole from our practice event. On hole 8, a par 4, Dave Prentiss with a handicap of 5 gets a stroke. He took a 4, so his net score is 3, one under par, and he earns 3 points. On hole 6, a par 4, he took a 5 and gets no stroke, so he earns 1.

Over 18 holes the same scorecards gave these boards.

Golfer	Ordinary (POINTS, PTS +/-)	Modified (POINTS)	Quota (POINTS, VS QUOTA)
Dave Prentiss	43, +7	19	38, +7
Rick Delgado	38, +2	9	26, +2
Bob Hendricks	33, −3	−3	15, −2
Susan Tillman	28, −8	−7	3, −8

Dave's quota was 31, which is 36 minus his handicap of 5, and he scored 38 points, so his VS QUOTA reads +7.

If it goes wrong

• The points do not match your arithmetic. Check the Stableford points group on Event settings. A ticked Modified Stableford or Play as Quota changes the whole table. Untick it and press Save Changes, and the board re-figures.
• The numbers look too high or too low. Points on the ordinary board are counted on the net score. A golfer with many handicap strokes picks up extra points on every stroke hole. At Play as Quota they are counted on gross.
• A golfer shows a negative total. That is Modified Stableford. A bogey takes a point away and a double bogey takes three.
• Modified is ticked but nothing changed. Play as Quota is ticked too. Quota overrides it. Untick Quota if you want the modified table.
• You cannot change the format. The Format list is locked once scores are in. The page says "Locked — scores have been entered. Changing the format would re-score the leaderboard." The point rules in Stableford points can still be changed.
• Two golfers have the same points. Tie Handling on Event settings decides. See Stroke play: gross and net.

Director's tip

Tell the group which table you are using at the rules talk. "Net par is two points" is the sentence people remember. With Modified, add that a bogey costs a point.

Related

• Stroke play: gross and net
• How scoring works on game day
• Set up your event in four steps

Still stuck?

Email support@back9ops.com and tell us the event's name, which boxes are ticked under Stableford points, and the points you expected for one hole.