Golf ScoutHow to score with a handicap: net and Stableford
Take your playing handicap and give yourself a stroke on each hole whose stroke index is that number or lower; above 18, you get a second stroke on the hardest holes. Your net score is your gross score minus those strokes. In Stableford, a net par scores 2 points, a net birdie 3 and a net bogey 1, so 36 points means you played to your handicap.
Step 1: know your playing handicap
Your Handicap Index becomes a course handicap for the tees you're playing, and that becomes a playing handicap for the format. In general play, your course handicap simply becomes your playing handicap. In an individual stroke play or Stableford competition, the recommended allowance is 95%.
Take a Handicap Index of 18.4 off tees rated 71.2, slope 128, par 72: that's a course handicap of 20, and 95% of it gives a playing handicap of 19. (Our guide to course handicap and Handicap Index shows the working.)
Step 2: find the holes where you get a stroke
Every hole has a stroke index (SI) on the scorecard, from 1 for the hardest to 18 for the easiest. With a playing handicap of 18 or less, you get one stroke on each hole whose SI is your handicap or lower. Above 18, you get one on every hole and a second on the holes with SI up to your handicap minus 18.
- Playing handicap 12: a stroke on SI 1 to 12.
- Playing handicap 19: a stroke on SI 1 to 18, and a second on SI 1.
- Playing handicap 22: a stroke on every hole and two on SI 1 to 4.
Step 3: net score
Your net score on a hole is your gross score minus your strokes there. For the round, it's simply your gross total minus your playing handicap. Shoot 92 with a playing handicap of 19 and your net score is 73, which you compare with par or with everyone else's net score.
Step 4: Stableford points
Stableford scores each hole by your net score against par:
| Net score on the hole | Points |
|---|---|
| Two or more over par (net double bogey or worse) | 0 |
| Net bogey | 1 |
| Net par | 2 |
| Net birdie | 3 |
| Net eagle | 4 |
| Net albatross | 5 |
Play to your handicap and you average 2 points a hole: 36 for 18 holes. Once you can't score a point on a hole, pick up. The Rules of Golf give zero points for a hole you don't finish and encourage you to stop, which keeps everyone moving.
A worked example
Here are six holes for our golfer off 19:
| Hole | Par | SI | Gross | Strokes | Net | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 3 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | 5 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| 6 | 3 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 34 | 27 | 9 |
The 7 on hole 2 is a gross triple bogey, but with 2 strokes on the hardest hole it's a net bogey and still scores 1 point. The 8 on hole 5 scores nothing, and it would have scored nothing as a 9 or a 10 either: that's why Stableford is kinder to a bad hole than stroke play.
Match play
In singles match play, the lower handicap plays off zero and the other player gets the difference between your course handicaps, on the holes with the lowest stroke indexes. You win a hole with the lower net score.
Check your card
Enter your handicap, the par and stroke index for each hole and your scores in the Stableford calculator. It shows your strokes, net score and points for every hole, and your adjusted gross score for handicap: see net double bogey for how that's capped. For 9-hole competitions, see 9-hole handicap scores.
Related guides
- What is a score differential?
- Why did my handicap go up after a good round?
- Do 9-hole scores count for your handicap?
Sources
Golf Scout's scorecard records strokes, putts, fairways and penalties for each hole, and scans the course's scorecard for par and stroke index. Get Golf Scout on the App Store, free for iPhone and Apple Watch.