Stableford is the most common format at club tournaments in the Philippines, and for good reason. Instead of counting every stroke for 18 holes, you earn points on each hole based on how you score against par. The highest total wins. Here is how it works, step by step.
The Standard Points Table
In standard Stableford, each hole is worth points like this:
- Albatross or better (3 under par): 5 points
- Eagle (2 under): 4 points
- Birdie (1 under): 3 points
- Par: 2 points
- Bogey (1 over): 1 point
- Double bogey or worse: 0 points
Par on every hole gives you 36 points, which makes it easy to judge a round at a glance: above 36 is a great day.
Why Clubs Love Stableford
- One bad hole does not ruin your round. A disaster on one hole just scores zero.
- Faster play. Once you cannot score a point on a hole, you can pick up your ball and move on.
- Fair for every level, especially when it is played with handicaps.
Net Stableford: Adding Handicaps
Most tournaments play net Stableford, where your handicap strokes are counted before the points. First, your handicap index becomes a course handicap (in the VCD Golf App, the handicap index multiplied by the tournament's allowance). Those strokes are then given out by stroke index: SI 1 is the hardest hole and gets a stroke first, SI 2 next, and so on.
- A course handicap of 18 gets one stroke on every hole.
- A course handicap of 10 gets one stroke on the holes with stroke index 1 to 10.
- A course handicap of 20 gets one stroke on every hole and a second stroke on SI 1 and SI 2.
A Worked Example
A player with a course handicap of 18 gets one stroke on every hole. On a par 4, they take 5 strokes. Their net score is 5 minus 1, which is 4: a net par, worth 2 points. On a par 3 they take 3 strokes: net 2, a net birdie, worth 3 points. On a par 5 they take 8 strokes: net 7, a net double bogey, worth 0 points, so they could have picked up once 7 was gone.
Other Points Tables
Some events use a different table. The VCD Golf App has the standard table above, a Molave table that pays one point more for every score down to a double bogey (eagle 5, birdie 4, par 3, bogey 2, double bogey 1, triple bogey or worse 0), and a custom table where the organizer sets every value. Stroke play is there too, for events where every shot counts.
How Ties Are Broken
Ties are common in Stableford. A popular method, and the one the VCD Golf App uses, is countback: the best score on the back nine wins, then the last six holes, the last three and finally the last hole.
Let the App Do the Math
Counting strokes received, net scores and points for a whole field by hand is where tournament mistakes happen. The VCD Golf App works out gross and net points for every player on every hole as scores come in, keeps the leaderboard live, and settles ties automatically. Read our guide on how to organize a golf tournament to plan the rest of your event, or tips for your first golf tournament if you are playing in one.
