Medal vs Stableford.

[Hobbit]

A high handicapper is more likely to have a serious blob or two, which would really hurt their medal card but not their stableford card. But if they follow it up with a few pars, nett birdies, their card is back on track. Sadly, quite often their head drops and they struggle to turn things around.

A low handicapper will drop a few shots, and may rectify things with a few birdies. In effect, there's little difference between what either player can achieve... most of the time.

But if you have a look at the results board down at the club you'll see that high handicap points spread will go from the low 20's up to low/mid 40's. Low handicappers points spread will be a lot tighter, typically from the high 20's to, maybe just into the 40's.

That said, its not unheard of a low handicapper shooting a seriously silly score if he has a day out - my best being 46pts off 4.

 

[Imurg]

i think i could course manage a 28 handicapper easily around under handicap. as long as they had a half decent short game and dont lose too many off the tee.

That's the main problem with 28'ers

They have little course management, a poorish short game and lose too many balls - that's why they're off 28

Generally speaking of course..

To me, Stableford is just like Medal.
If I blob a hole in Stableford, it's normally just a double on a non-shot hole - I'll still post a score. OK occasionally I don't finish a hole but it's not often I have to pick up. So it's ball in the hole for both formats and I go into each with the same mindset - to shoot as low a score as I can.

 

[MashieNiblick]

Interesting debate.

I wonder if part of the reason stableford engenders a different mind set (apart from the obvious protection against damage from a really bad hole) is that you get instant benefit from you handicap.

On a stroke hole a birdie scores 4 (2 point bonus :thup and a double still gets you a point . In a medal you'd be thinking that a biride only gains you a shot and a double drops you 2 :angry:.

 

[SGC001]

More of a difference the more shots you have or if you're the inconsistent type.

A 10 might be recoverable in a stab, you don't need to worry too much about the hole where you can't make the carry over as at worst it's a blob.

I don't know if it's been said you but you also have the potential for 'free' putts in a stab, so if you have a Diego (nastly little footer) you might not have to worry about the return.

they never used to allow course records of stabs and hopefully they still don't.

 

[Imurg]

they never used to allow course records of stabs and hopefully they still don't.

If you've hit a course record, even in a Stableford, then you haven't blobbed a hole so the difference between Medal and Stableford is the difference between......what?

Ball from tee - ball to green - ball to hole.

Stableford or Medal - you've played the same shots.......

 

[MadAdey]

Medal play is a lot tougher as you do not get away with having a blow up.

If I had no scratches on my card and was playing well, I could have 38 points through 17 holes and blow the last to pieces and have to scratch still walking off 2 under my handicap.

If that was medal I would now be walking onto the 18th 6 over. If I then totally blew the hole to pieces and had a 12 I would now be 2 over my handicap. Bit of an extreme but it puts the difference between medal and stableford.

It takes a steady round to return a good score in medal play, where you can get away with it in stableford.

 

[SGC001]

If you've hit a course record, even in a Stableford, then you haven't blobbed a hole so the difference between Medal and Stableford is the difference between......what?

Ball from tee - ball to green - ball to hole.

Stableford or Medal - you've played the same shots.......

If you've had even one 1 pointer, that means you've had a free putt.

 

[DCB]

Taking a slight deviation from the Op train of thought, the Stableford / Medal Play seems to be a geographical divide as well. We have one stableford competition on our fixture card in the season, everything else is medal strokeplay. Most of the other clubs in the area play medal strokeplay in the vast number of their competitions. I certainly read on the forum of a lot more stableford comps being played South of the border than North of it.

 

[Robobum]

If the pros can rack up the odd 8 on a card then why worry. I've played a comp before where I've used all my shots before the 9th tee and then managed to have a good back 9 and only just fail to get in the buffer. Yes a big score will usually stop you winning but it doesn't need to mean you won't get cut.

A lot of our older members don't play medals off the whites as they think the course is too hard for them and I respect that. They will enter a stableford because on the really tough holes they just accept a blob and know with their shots they are more than likely to make that up. If it means they can still play comps then I'm all for them making that choice. For me though medal is the only real indicator of how well you are playing as a stableford can mask a bad hole.

All your shots by the turn.....PAH....try wasting them all stood on the 2nd tee in a medal!!! Haha

I agree that you can get a lucky bogey, but would argue against your 60ft putt reasoning, unless you pushed it 6ft off your intended line!!??
You hit your tee shot 250yds down the fairway and take complete credit for it but a shot that is a tenth of that distance is classed as luck??!!
Now, if you chunked or bladed your 6iron approach up to tap in range........lucky bas......!!

 

[MashieNiblick]

If you've had even one 1 pointer, that means you've had a free putt.

Well not really, if it's just a tap in. Had plenty of those yesterday.

 

[SGC001]

Well not really, if it's just a tap in. Had plenty of those yesterday.

It's still a free putt, in addition it's a different mindset with risk reward shots because their is never more than a double there, people may take shots onthey wouldn't have otherwise which skews scores. Imo course records should be medals only and I hop ethis is still the case.

 

[Val]

Taking a slight deviation from the Op train of thought, the Stableford / Medal Play seems to be a geographical divide as well. We have one stableford competition on our fixture card in the season, everything else is medal strokeplay. Most of the other clubs in the area play medal strokeplay in the vast number of their competitions. I certainly read on the forum of a lot more stableford comps being played South of the border than North of it.

You could be right, we have 2 a year. 1 to open the season and 1 to close it

 

[Evesdad]

I've had lucky birdies!! Driver straight and long down the middle, I'll take the credit for that! Left me with a gentle 9i to middle of the green. I proceeded to blade it to 2 inches from the hole, it was never more than an inch off the floor!! I take no credit for that but walked off with a 3 just the same!

 

[garyinderry]

It's still a free putt, in addition it's a different mindset with risk reward shots because their is never more than a double there, people may take shots onthey wouldn't have otherwise which skews scores. Imo course records should be medals only and I hop ethis is still the case.

what he means by free putt is for example what i had at the 5 yesterday. par 3. went into a bunker , up against the lip. just about managed to get it out sideways out the back of the green. poor chip back on leaving 12 foot putt for bogey. i have no shot here so in essence it was a free putt as i am never leaving this short and there is no consequnce of me drilling it a mile past the hole. if i did this in stroke i risk missing and taking another two extra putts. i holed the putt btw!

 

[TheJezster]

It's simply a different format. Not really sure what all the debate is about. You go out and play the format on the day, whether it be stroke, stableford, fourseomes, 4 club etc.

Personally I prefer stableford, but it doesnt mean I wont enter the stroke play comps too. I won a stroke play foursomes last year with one of my friends. Also won a monthly medal and a bowl too, so someone would have had to beat me, either by stroke or points. The point being its the same scoring format for all players on the course.

Yesterday was the 2nd round of our 2 part comp (the South London Cup), I scored 34 points last week and was 8th at halfway stage (leader had 40 points). So I knew if I wanted to have any chance I had to have a really good round this weekend. That wouldnt change if it was stroke or stableford. As it happens I had a really good round, shot 81 for 43 points, giving me a good chance of being high up with 77 points for the 2 rounds. Not sure it's a winning score, but I had to concentrate and hole everything out exactly as if it were a stroke play tournament so there's no difference there. It's my course record (for me) and will stand. It's legitimate, with card in hand. Noone can tell me its not really my best score, if they do, well frankly they would be fools.

So my take on it is this, whatever comp you play on the day, just go out and enjoy it and play the format of the day, and enjoy your golf. It's better than not playing at all!

 

[Imurg]

The o.ly real difference is in your head.
Regardless of format, play the shot that is required.

A 12 foot putt for a bogey or 1 point - I'm looking to hole it regardless.

 

[garyinderry]

you will always be a little firmer with that putt for a point rather than a bogey putt!

 

[kid2]

If you've hit a course record, even in a Stableford, then you haven't blobbed a hole so the difference between Medal and Stableford is the difference between......what?

Ball from tee - ball to green - ball to hole.

Stableford or Medal - you've played the same shots.......

This is exactly the argument i had yesterday......And Murg has just cemented my point.......

 

[balaclava]

The question you ask is a little more complex than you may think - why?

This may get a little deep but bear with me.

It is (unfortunately) not simply a matter of what is preferable. We are (again unfortunately) a part of a culture that has a certain attitude to everything including golf and in this regard that attitude is characterised by:
1. We don't like change
2. We think we know best
3. We think we invented and own it
4. It's not about enjoying yourself it's about the eternal struggle (man v course).

Now before you write me off a nut case let me explain.

I came back this country 4 years back never having played golf here, my golfing life and experience was principally in southern Africa and some in the USA. In Africa medal was confined to once a month (the monthly medal) it was massively unpopular and boycotted by a large number of the members; 90% of all the games played were stableford. Medal was viewed as arduous and unnecessarily arduous. The attitude was that golf was a game to be enjoyed and playing stableford you could walk away from a lost ball or a disastrous hole and still carry on and win. When I came back to this country I was shocked to find it was 90% medal. I asked the question in this forum - why and the answer I got back was that golf was a test and that golfers enjoyed the test - it was macho thing, man v course. I have since also discovered that the clubhouse walls are covered in boards of previous medal comps from years back all of which are re-played each year because the people with their names on that board want it to stay up there for eternity. (Note: in my previous club the only boards on the walls were the annual club championship and the list of past captains. They knew that if they put a board up for any other comp they be doomed to repeat it forever).

Now before you re-read what I have said in disbelief at the prospects that other golfers around the world aren't all trudging around the course like us and the question suddenly pops into you head - ah! but that can't be possible because they need the medal for their handicap - the answer is no you don't as all medal comps are translated into medal scores for handicap.

 

[SGC001]

There's me thinking golf was about hitting a little white ball into 18 different humongous holes, something you don't need to do in stabs or bogeys.

There's nothing much wrong with stabs, but they're not medals; they're more social making it easier for people to continue been competitive longer into a round and easing the pressure on all holes.

We had a section of stableford boys at my old club, they'd play only stabs and the majors because of the differences between stableford and medal play