Which golf scoring system awards points based on score relative to par?

Stableford is the golf scoring system that awards points based on a player’s score relative to par.

Unlike traditional stroke play, where the lowest total number of strokes wins, Stableford gives competitors points on each hole and rewards the highest total. In the standard system, a par earns two points, a birdie three, an eagle four, a bogey one and a double bogey or worse zero points, subject to handicap adjustments where applicable.

The system was developed by Frank Barney Gorton Stableford. It was first used informally at Glamorganshire Golf Club in Wales in 1898 and later appeared in competition at Wallasey Golf Club in England in 1932. Stableford was designed partly to prevent one disastrous hole from ruining an entire round.

That feature also speeds up play: once a golfer can no longer earn a point on a hole, they may pick up rather than finish it. Modified Stableford formats use different values, often giving unusually large rewards for birdies and eagles and heavier penalties for high scores.

Foursomes, four-ball and scramble describe playing formats, not this points-based scoring method.