To have the option, but not the obligation. It feels good.
It’s a subtle distinction, but key to understanding the Stableford mindset. Part of the chore of medal golf is the continuous obligation to hole out. It’s right there in the rules for stroke golf:
A player must hole out at each hole in a round. If the player fails to hole out at any hole… [and] if the mistake is not corrected in that time, the player is disqualified.
— Rule 3.3c, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club
And it drones on, hole after hole. No eased edges. No slack in the line. Since Stableford is a game of possessions, no such obligation exists. One always has the option to hit the ball, and to do so until it comes to rest in the cup, but never the obligation. Picking up in Stableford isn’t a sin, it’s simply the option going unexercised. It’s often savvy strategy.
Under Stableford, the game becomes one of accumulation and acquisition. We can cut our losses. We can follow most of the chorus of “The Gambler” and be right with the rule book. To have the option, but not the obligation.