The scoring unit
One player. Every player in the field produces their own result, and the draw is not needed at all.
Individual Stableford
The format most club competitions and society outings actually run. One result per player, points against par, with strokes given off the stroke index.
What counts on each hole
That player's own Stableford points on that hole. Nothing is combined with anybody else.
The calculation
How a result is arrived at
Written out so a committee can check it by hand for any one hole.
1. Playing handicap
Exact handicap × allowance, rounded half away from zero. At 95%, an exact 14 becomes 13.3 and therefore a playing handicap of 13.
2. Strokes received on each hole
A playing handicap of 13 over 18 holes gives one stroke on each hole with stroke index 1 to 13, and none on the remaining five. A handicap of 20 gives one stroke everywhere plus a second on stroke index 1 and 2. A plus-handicap gives strokes back, starting from the highest stroke index.
3. Points for the hole
par + strokes received − gross + 2, never below zero. Net par is 2 points, net birdie 3, net bogey 1, net double bogey or worse 0.
4. The total
Add the eighteen hole scores. A blank hole scores zero points, and if it has not been confirmed as a deliberate no-score it raises a must-fix exception rather than being quietly counted as zero.
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.
Alex Fourie plays off an exact 14. At the competition's 95% allowance that is a playing handicap of 13, so he receives a stroke on the thirteen hardest holes.
The first hole is a par 4 with stroke index 5, so he receives a stroke there. He scores 5. That is 4 + 1 − 5 + 2 = 2 points, a net par.
The third is a par 3 with stroke index 17, so he receives nothing. He scores 3. That is 3 + 0 − 3 + 2 = 2 points, again a net par, but earned differently.
Over the full round he finishes on 33 points — and so does Sipho Dlamini, which is where countback comes in.
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
There is no such thing as an incomplete unit in this format: a player is their own team. A player who picks up on a hole scores zero points for it and keeps their result.
A player with no handicap on the card and none on file is excluded from the result rather than scored off zero, and raises an exception so somebody decides deliberately.
Ties and countback
Applied to the player: last nine, then last six, then last three, then the last hole.
On the demo card, Fourie and Dlamini both finish on 33. Fourie has 16 points on the back nine against Dlamini's 15, so Fourie takes second and Dlamini third — decided at the first step, without reaching the last six.
If they had been level on all four figures they would share second, and the next player would be fourth.
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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