Is always playing stableford stopping you getting a lower handicap ??

[virgilvdk]

:thup: His fishing expeditions are rather tedious. He'll probably be a really nice guy..... when he grows up.



:thup: Maybe if we did it for a living it would be worth worrying about.

Tedious is the speed at which someone gets called a troll or is fishing on here.

 

[User101]

in that case surely he will get a cut then because the 10 will be cut down to a double???

Indeed he will, probably about a shot, which is the point I'm making, had it been rubbish stabelford he wouldn't get cut, just nothing scored on that hole. He hung in there and respect to him, takes mental strength to grind out a score after that.

 

[User101]

I tend to agree with the OP as I feel grinding out a medal score will in the long run make you a better player.
At Montrose on Friday I had a 9 on the 6th which put paid to any chance of a prize but I was still encouraged to go for the buffer as my next target, not that lasted any time with an 8 in the last.
Medal to me is the purest form and if you do well/OK in medals you'll do well in Stableford but don't feel that a good stableford player will do so well in medals.
When I tee it up I look to shoot as low as gross score as possible

Cheers fella, finally someone who can see the woods for the trees. :thup:

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I like to think my club has it right and a decent enough mix of both formats to keep members happy and make competitions interesting. The only thing I don't quite understand is why we hold qualifiers all year long, subject to the weather (snow, waterlogging etc) but from November to February they are stableford only and why the club doesn't put medals on. At the end of the day I'm going to play whatever the format and try my best each time

 

[User101]

We have two stableford comps all year, they are the two least played comps all year.

 

[bladeplayer]

If I say I had a blob, I just mean I didn’t get any points, not that I didn’t finish the hole. Is that not a blob?

Not sure if u missed the bit in the ( ) or chose to ignore it
I was actualy agreeing with your OP ..

But hey ho..

 

[User101]

As someone who wants to start playing medals this year, if I have a blow up hole and take an 8, would that just count as a double bogey looking at it from a handicap perspective, the same as a stableford?

I think you and a few others are missing the point and that's the difference, cause if folk think stableford and strokeplay is the same thing then I'm kidding myself on trying to make my point.

 

[NWJocko]

Indeed he will, probably about a shot, which is the point I'm making, had it been rubbish stabelford he wouldn't get cut, just nothing scored on that hole. He hung in there and respect to him, takes mental strength to grind out a score after that.

Given handicap adjustments are made based on stableford not sure how this would be the case!? You get cut the same medal or stableford I think? Could be wrong though, don't play many qualifiers that are stableford

 

[williamalex1]

The difference is a player could possibly have 2 or 3, 10s on his card = 3 blobs but could still win a stableford comp, but would have no chance winning in a stroke play medal.

 

[BrianM]

I think you and a few others are missing the point and that's the difference, cause if folk think stableford and strokeplay is the same thing then I'm kidding myself on trying to make my point.

Who thinks they are the same thing?
Im well aware i'm not going to win a strokeplay with 2 or 3 blobs on the card, all i asked was about how the handicap was worked out for a medal.
I'm also aware of your point where you think playing medals will lower your handicap / make you a better player, it might for some it might not for others, just go out and try your best every time you go out and your handicap will take care of its self, regardless if its a medal or stableford competition.

 

[Slab]

Far from being a ‘cop out’ it could just be that it’s just two different ways to score your round and players will see the scoring formats differently and they probably do produce different styles of play, both capable of getting your handicap down

For me medal is the safe option, it promotes playing the % game and protecting your score to avoid blow ups and because plenty can’t/won’t then playing to handicap will always be a good result (in the tortoise & hare analogy this is Shell-boy)
Stableford lends itself to a ‘go for it’ approach because you know 36 pts just won’t cut it for prizes, so its Monte Carlo or bust

Always doing medal will probably make a player more consistent but maybe less exciting (a Matt Kuchar style of player)
Always chasing points will make it more dramatic (+ & -) and adds more uncertainty to the results (McIlroy always seem to have a Stableford mindset going on)

So there it is if you want to one day get the 59 approach it like Kuchar
If a 48 pointer floats your boat play it like Rory would




(actually Rory seems to be much more like a match-play mindset where he's playing against the course... but he’s always dormie down!)

 

[Griffsters]

I'm new to club membership and most of the rounds at my club are stableford.

So far this season I've completed each hole so I get a full scorecard as this is how I measure my own progress. Its a small club, doesn't get too busy so doesn't hold things up. To me at this stage of my golfing its the gross score that matters most, it seems a true measure of my consistency and improvement.

However, Stableford keeps things interesting from a competition point of view. I'd imagine once I have stabilised and found my 'level' I'll mellow a bit from this.

 

[Cake]

Far from being a ‘cop out’ it could just be that it’s just two different ways to score your round and players will see the scoring formats differently and they probably do produce different styles of play, both capable of getting your handicap down

For me medal is the safe option, it promotes playing the % game and protecting your score to avoid blow ups and because plenty can’t/won’t then playing to handicap will always be a good result (in the tortoise & hare analogy this is Shell-boy)
Stableford lends itself to a ‘go for it’ approach because you know 36 pts just won’t cut it for prizes, so its Monte Carlo or bust

This all day long - it’s all about your definition of ‘better golfer’ and which type of scoring promotes those characteristics.

I know that for the vast majority of people the lower score consistently is ‘better’ and I am coming to appreciate this having been a member of a club for just over a year and having a handicap... however having previously played 3 or 4 times a year I actually feel like a not ad good golfer... I am much more consistent and definitely have a lower average round score, but my number of gross birdies (and eagles) is fewer as I am managing the course more, rather than going for everything with each shot...

Much as I am enjoying trying to improve my handicap (which is 18 at the moment) a large part of me misses that gung-ho way of playing as I found it more enjoyable in a different way. I’m not yet at the point where I just hit the safe shot each time, but I assume as I play more comps where every shot counts that might become prevalent.

All depends on mentality, and Cabby clearly sees overall score as king, so medal is his game... I’m leaning more towards Stableford as risk/reward is still there for us higger handicappers.

 

[DCB]

I used to think Medal play was the real game, we only had one Stableford comp during a season, everything else was Medal play. Since I have returned to golf after my accident my views have changed, Stableford certainly still gives me a chance to put a respectable points score together over 18 holes. I now understand why people like this format. Yes, for scratch golfers Medal is the real test, but, for the rest of us Stableford gives us a chance do well if we are on our game.

As long as we enjoy our golf does it really matter how we score? We are paying for fun and enjoyment after all.

 

[Val]

Indeed he will, probably about a shot, which is the point I'm making, had it been rubbish stabelford he wouldn't get cut, just nothing scored on that hole. He hung in there and respect to him, takes mental strength to grind out a score after that.

The mental part is the only real difference. If more people played in medals with a stableford mindset on their score rather than freezing when the have a bad hole then scores would tend to be better.

Your man hung in because he could forget the 10 on his card, same as anyone would/should in stableford with a blob on their card.

 

[Val]

The difference is a player could possibly have 2 or 3, 10s on his card = 3 blobs but could still win a stableford comp, but would have no chance winning in a stroke play medal.

Correct.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Not sure if u missed the bit in the ( ) or chose to ignore it
I was actualy agreeing with your OP ..

But hey ho..

I think you misinterpreted my comment, not everyone on here is an angry troll!

I was clarifying use of the word blob, as I thought I might be using it incorrectly based on how you were using it (I.e - hole not being finished).

But looking at your post again, I don’t think we are using it differently.

 

[richart]

The mental part is the only real difference. If more people played in medals with a stableford mindset on their score rather than freezing when the have a bad hole then scores would tend to be better.

Your man hung in because he could forget the 10 on his card, same as anyone would/should in stableford with a blob on their card.

Agree with this. I don’t have many handicap cuts, but can remember at least two medal ones when I have had a nine on the card. Perhaps a high medal score on a hole makes the round easier, as you relax knowing you are not competing to win ?

 

[User101]

Everyone can just keep on keeping on with your stableford game and if you think there is no difference to putting a score together over 18 holes then crack on but you're only kidding yourself :thup:

My work here is done.

 

[User20205]

Everyone can just keep on keeping on with your stableford game and if you think there is no difference to putting a score together over 18 holes then crack on but you're only kidding yourself :thup:

My work here is done.

I don’t disagree with you. Most club golfers in England are brought up with a stableford mindset. They talk about nett scores, how many blobs etc.
Check out most clubs starts sheets. Stablefords will be over subscribed, medals rarely unless club champs etc