A common objection I hear about Stableford is that it isn\u2019t \u201creal golf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe my skeptic means it\u2019s unsanctioned. That\u2019s not the case. It\u2019s codified right there in the rules maintained by the R&A and USGA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe they mean it\u2019s different from stroke golf, and they\u2019re right. So different I argue it\u2019s a truly different game–just played in the same arena and with the same equipment. As different as stroke is from match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe they mean Stableford is a way of avoiding the test of the strict rules of golf. Not that many play \u201cSROG\u201d but if you like honoring the precision of the rule book I argue Stableford is a actually better way <\/em>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019ll honor those impediments and still score. But almost always in this format they result in a state where you can\u2019t score, so you end the possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re really into \u201creal golf,\u201d Stableford is the fastest way to play it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A common objection I hear about Stableford is that it isn\u2019t \u201creal golf.\u201d Maybe my skeptic means it\u2019s unsanctioned. That\u2019s not the case. It\u2019s codified right there in the rules maintained by the R&A and USGA. Maybe they mean it\u2019s different from stroke golf, and they\u2019re right. So different I argue it\u2019s a truly different…<\/p>\n