A common objection I hear about Stableford is that it isn’t “real golf.”
Maybe my skeptic means it’s unsanctioned. That’s not the case. It’s codified right there in the rules maintained by the R&A and USGA.
Maybe they mean it’s different from stroke golf, and they’re right. So different I argue it’s a truly different game–just played in the same arena and with the same equipment. As different as stroke is from match.
Maybe they mean Stableford is a way of avoiding the test of the strict rules of golf. Not that many play “SROG” but if you like honoring the precision of the rule book I argue Stableford is a actually better way to do just that. This is because you can play a swift solo round of Stableford and never skirt a single rule, never take the edge off a single element of the tests of the game.
The Stableford economy of effort means you can honor every chapter of the rule book: every unplayable lie, every outside agency, every movable obstruction, every lost ball, every penalty. Occasionally you’ll honor those impediments and still score. But almost always in this format they result in a state where you can’t score, so you end the possession.
If you’re really into “real golf,” Stableford is the fastest way to play it.