Author: The Jolly Putter

The dirty point. It might be the most satisfying expression of how deeply Stableford can transform that most boring phase of the game: putting. The dirty point isn’t the only improvement for putting. There’s also the clarity of match-putting–where a savvy lag does you no good and you have to play for contact. But the…

Q. So if you’re “collecting” points, what’s a good score? This is a common question. What’s a good score for the Detroit Lions? Lions fans might say any score that wins the game. The same is true for Stableford, but that of course requires a human opponent. We don’t always have one of those. Q.…

Imagine a golf club where everyone plays with care and zeal but the rounds take less than four hours, often way less. That would be the reality at a club that barred medal play on a typical day—reserving it only for tournament formats—and instead only allowed Stableford play for members. I have yet to hear…

Playing for points. Playing for cash. Playing for fun. Playing for detachment. There’s a sea of reasons why people play the game of golf. Understand that Stableford is two things at once: it is an accounting standard—a way of scoring. But it is also a mindset. Like Robert Towne said about “Chinatown”—it’s not just a…

Addressing three typical questions on the format, from those first introduced: Yes, you can play Stableford alone—unlike match play. Yes, you can play Stableford without a handicap—though you likely won’t score as well as if you did. Yes, you can maintain an index with Stableford rounds. An improving game will show up in your numbers…

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…