Calculating a Stableford Score
Posted on 17 Jul 2023 at 19:28
On this page, there is a plugin, which I wrote, to calculate a Stableford score from a round of golf.
For those who are not into golf, a Stableford scoring system is one that involves scoring points, rather than holing out in a certain number of shots on each hole.
The number of points awarded are based on the number of shots it takes to hole out relative to the par rating, but also the golfer’s handicap and the hole’s stroke index (SI). Each hole on a golf course has a unique SI – a number between 1 and 18.
The Stableford system has several advantages over stroke play. One of these is that it can speed up play because once it is clear you are not going to hole out within a certain number of shots and thus you are not going to get any points on that hole, you can simply pick up the ball and move on to the next hole. You can’t do that in stroke play. Also, one disastrous hole cannot ruin an otherwise good round.
Here is how my plugin works
Enter the SIs for each hole. The plugin will check that each SI is unique: the numbers must be between 1 and 18, with no more than one hole having the same SI.
Consider a player who is playing off 10, holes out in 6 shots on a par 4 with an SI of 8.
Handicap is 10, SI is 8, so the player has an extra shot, which is added to the par rating. It is in effect a par 5.
The player holed out in 6, which 1 over the adjusted par rating, so that player gets 1 point.
If the handicap was 7 or less, or if the SI was 11 or more, the player would have got no points, because the par rating would not have been adjusted.
If the handicap was 26, then the player was allowed two shots, that would have made the hole a par 6, so 2 points would have been awarded here.
Suppose a player had a negative handicap, say -2. In this case, the par ratings for the holes with SIs of 17 and 18 would be adjusted by deducting a shot, for example a par 4 would become a par 3.
If there are any golfers who are reading this, and spot any errors in how I calculate the points in the plugin, I would welcome any feedback on the subject.
Here is the plugin.