Better ball Stableford is the format most golf societies actually play, even if nobody says the full name on the first tee. Two players, two balls, points rather than strokes, and only the better score counts on each hole.
It survives bad holes, keeps high and low handicappers competitive on the same leaderboard, and speeds up play because anyone out of a hole simply picks up. Here is exactly how it works.
Stableford points, first
Stableford converts your net score on a hole into points. Net score means your gross score minus any handicap strokes you receive on that hole.
| Net score | Points |
|---|---|
| Net albatross (3 under) | 5 |
| Net eagle (2 under) | 4 |
| Net birdie (1 under) | 3 |
| Net par | 2 |
| Net bogey | 1 |
| Net double bogey or worse | 0 |
Play to your handicap over 18 holes and you score 36 points. Full detail is in our Stableford scoring guide.
Adding the better ball
Each player scores their own points on every hole. The side then takes the higher of the two. Nothing else is added — the partner’s points on that hole are simply discarded.
| Hole | Par | SI | A (18 hcp) | B (6 hcp) | Team points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 5 gross, net 4 = 2 pts | 4 gross, net 4 = 2 pts | 2 |
| 2 | 3 | 15 | 4 gross, net 3 = 2 pts | 2 gross = 4 pts | 4 |
| 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 gross, net 5 = 2 pts | 8 gross = 0 pts | 2 |
| 4 | 4 | 11 | picked up = 0 pts | 4 gross = 2 pts | 2 |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 gross, net 4 = 2 pts | 3 gross = 3 pts | 3 |
Notice hole 3: the low handicapper blows up, the 18-handicapper carries the side. That flip-flopping is exactly why better ball is such a good social format — both players matter, whatever the gap between them.
The handicap allowance
The recommended allowance in a four-ball is 85% of course handicap, rounded to the nearest whole stroke. The point of the reduction is that two players each get to discard their worst holes, which inflates a side’s expected score; cutting the allowance keeps pairings honest.
Course handicap itself is not your handicap index — it is adjusted for the tees you are playing using slope and course rating. Fourball applies that adjustment automatically, per player, per tee, so mixed-tee pairings still compete fairly.
What score wins?
- Under 40 points — a tough day, or a tough course.
- 40–44 points — a normal society return.
- 45–47 points — competitive, often in the frame.
- 48+ points — usually wins.
A single player scoring 36 means they played to handicap. Two players each hitting 36 individually will typically combine for 44–46 as a better ball, because the blank holes get covered.
Breaking ties
Countback is standard: compare points over the last nine holes, then the last six, then the last three, then hole 18, then work backwards hole by hole. State the rule before play so nobody argues in the bar afterwards. Fourball applies full countback automatically on the leaderboard.
Common variations
- Two to count. In teams of three or four, count the best two scores on each hole instead of one. Popular for corporate days.
- Aggregate Stableford. Add both players’ points on every hole. Punishing, but a real test.
- Better ball on par 3s only. A side bet rather than a format, but a good one.
Running it live
Better ball Stableford is easy to score for one pairing and painful across ten. Fourball does the arithmetic in real time: each player taps in their gross score, the app applies the right handicap strokes per hole using stroke index, computes points, takes the better ball, and updates a live leaderboard every group can see.
It is free, works in any phone browser with no download, and players join by tapping a WhatsApp link or scanning a QR code. See also four-ball rules explained and 4BBB explained.