What does stableford in golf mean?

Stableford is a scoring system in golf. The system works by awarding points based on your net score (your handicap adjusted score) on each hole.

More about the stableford scoring system

The fixed or par score is adjusted as per the stroke indexes (SI) of the holes. The hardest hole has the lowest stroke index of 1 and the easiest has the highest stroke index of 18.

Points in Stableford are awarded as follows:

6 points – Four strokes under
5 points – Three strokes under
4 points – Two strokes under
3 points – One stroke under
2 points – Level par
1 point – One stroke over
0 points – Two strokes or more over

For example: someone playing off a handicap of nine will get 3 points for a par on the nine holes indexed 1-9 and 2 points for a par on the holes indexed 10-18.

The winner of a Stableford competition is the player with the highest point total.

The Stableford system is popular because it should speed up play. Once a player has taken two strokes more than the adjusted fixed score, they should pick up their ball and move on to the next hole.