subject: Playing a Stable Golf [print this page] 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 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. 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). 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 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 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).
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 who 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.
