The scoring unit
The fourball. One combined total per group.
Combined Stableford
Every player in the group counts on every hole. The most inclusive of the team formats, and the one where a weak player genuinely affects the result.
What counts on each hole
All of the group's Stableford scores on that hole, added together. Nothing is discarded.
The calculation
How a result is arrived at
Written out so a committee can check it by hand for any one hole.
1. Each player scores individually first
Playing handicap, strokes off the stroke index and Stableford points per hole, exactly as in individual Stableford.
2. Add the whole group on each hole
The hole contributes the sumof every present player's points. A hole where the fourball scores 3, 2, 2 and 0 contributes 7.
There is no “scores to count” setting, because the answer is always all of them. That is the entire difference between this and a four-ball alliance.
3. The team total
Add the eighteen combined hole scores. Totals run high — a fourball of reasonable club golfers will produce something in the 120s — so the numbers look unfamiliar next to an individual leaderboard.
Worked example
On the demo card
The same four synthetic players used everywhere on this site, playing a fictional par 72 at a 95% allowance.
The demo fourball scores 33, 35, 27 and 33 individually. Combined Stableford simply adds them: 128 points.
Because nothing is discarded, this is one of the few team formats where the team total does equal the sum of the individual totals. It is a useful sanity check: if a combined result does not equal the sum of its members, something is wrong with the draw rather than with the maths.
Compare that with the same fourball scored as an alliance counting the best two, which gives 76. Same cards, same players, a very different competition.
Format
Handicap allowance
One result per player.
| # | Player | Plays off | Points | Back 9 | Back 6 | Back 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T. Bhengu | 8 | 35 | 17 | 12 | 6 |
| T2 | A. Fourie | 13 | 33 | 16 | 10 | 5 |
| T3 | S. Dlamini | 10 | 33 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| 4 | P. Nel | 17 | 27 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
Two results are level on points. Countback has separated them on the back nine, and the ranks are marked so nobody has to wonder why.
Select this format below. Every number is computed by the production scoring engine.
Edge cases
The parts that catch people out
These are the situations a spreadsheet usually gets wrong.
An incomplete team
A group with fewer players than the others is at a straightforward arithmetic disadvantage: three players cannot out-score four when every score counts.
ScribbleScore scores the group on the players who are actually there rather than inventing a fourth. It does not apply a handicap adjustment for a short group, because there is no single correct adjustment and inventing one would hide the problem.
If your draw has an odd number, this is the format to think hardest about before committing to it.
Ties and countback
Applied to the fourball's combined hole scores: last nine, last six, last three, last hole.
Because combined totals are large, exact ties are rarer here than in other formats — but when they happen the same four-step sequence resolves them, and groups still level share the rank.
Live in the productLive in the product
Covered by tests, which is why it is listed.
This format's unit construction, rounding and countback behaviour are covered by the automated tests that run against the scoring engine. That is the bar for appearing on the formats page at all.
Questions
About formats
Which competition formats are supported?
Four, each with its rules, rounding and countback behaviour covered by automated tests: individual Stableford, four-ball alliance, two-ball alliance (better ball) and combined Stableford.
For the alliance format you choose how many scores count on each hole, from one to four. The handicap allowance percentage is adjustable per competition, so a format played off 85% is scored off 85%.
If your club plays a format that is not on the list, ask: formats are added on request, and we only list one publicly once its behaviour is under test, because a format that is nearly right is worse than one we do not offer.
How are ties broken?
By countback, in the standard sequence: the last nine, then the last six, then the last three, then the last hole.
If two players or teams are still exactly level after all four, they share the rank and the next rank is skipped, so two players tied on first are both shown as first and the next is third. The leaderboard marks a result where countback did the separating, so nobody has to wonder why one player is above another on the same points.
Does it handle 9-hole competitions?
Yes. Both 9 and 18 hole competitions are scored, and countback adjusts accordingly: over 9 holes it works from the last six, last three and last hole.
Can we apply a handicap allowance?
Yes, as a percentage across the competition, with the common ones a tap away. The playing handicap is calculated from the exact handicap and the allowance, rounded half away from zero, and the leaderboard shows what each player is playing off.
Change the allowance after cards are in and every result is recalculated. You do not re-enter anything.
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