How To Bet On Golf – Betting Guide

The Basics Of Golf

In Golf, individuals compete against each other. The aim is for each player to get their ball from the tee at the start of the hole, into the hole at the end of the green in as little shots as possible. Throughout the hole, each player has to avoid undesirable sections of the course that could heighten the number of shots needed, such as the rough, sand and water, aiming to play only on the green. Each course consists of 18 holes, with professional tournaments playing four rounds across four days, making a total of 72 holes.  

How To Bet On Golf

Unlike many sports which are seasonal, Golf can be an all year round betting sport, giving you plenty of opportunity to get involved. But before you place any bets, you need to select your bookmaker.

Finding the online betting site you’d like to use is a simple consideration of a few factors:

• Do they offer the market you are looking for?
• Do they offer good odds on that market?
• Do they have a welcome offer that will allow you to get more for your money?

You don’t just have to use one betting site either. If you are placing three bets for example and one betting site has good odds on two of those markets but another betting site has better odds on the final market, it can be a good idea to split your bets across the betting sites. Or, if halfway through the year, you find a betting site that has a great welcome offer available, it could be worth signing up with them for your next wager to stretch your money further.

Once you have chosen the betting site to use, placing your bet is relatively straightforward:

1. Sign in or register to your chosen betting site
2. Locate their Golf section
3. Find the market you would like to bet on
4. Enter your wager and submit your bet

Golf Betting Markets

Golf markets have grown considerably over the years, meaning there are more ways than ever to bet on the sport. Due to the nature of a Golf tournament, betting odds can fluctuate throughout the four days, so it’s a good idea to get to know the different types of betting markets and consider the best points throughout a tournament to place your bet.

These are the Golf betting markets you are most likely to come across on betting sites:

Betting Market	How It Works
Outright bet	As with all sports, the outright bet in Golf allows you to select an individual to win a tournament. This is the most popular market in Golf with odds varying throughout the tournament.
Each-way bet	Each-way betting allows you to place two bets in one. The first is for an individual to win the tournament, and the second is for that same individual to place within a particular standing, for example, the top 3. This type of bet can give you a bit of a safety net as if your selected player doesn’t finish first but finishes within the top 3, you still win that part of your each-way bet. If your chosen player does finish first, then you will win on both parts of your bet.
Head-to-head	In the same way as the outright bet, here you are selecting an individual to win. But rather than it being specifically to win the whole tournament, as the name suggests you are instead picking a winner between two individuals. Your chosen player doesn’t have to come first, they simply just have to perform better than the other player in the head-to-head. Some betting sites will also offer this as a three-way bet where you select a winner from three players rather than two.
Parlay bets	If you know a parlay bet from other sports then you’ll know that it combines two or more wagers into one. Each individual bet will have its own odds, so when you combine them all, you have the chance of a higher payout. However, with this comes higher risk as to receive a payout from a parlay bet, each individual wager has to win. If even a single wager loses then you lose the whole parlay bet.
Nationality bets	Working similar to the head-to-head type of bet, you bet on an individual player to perform the best. However, with a nationality bet, you are betting on that player to perform the best out of all players from their country. Each golfer will have individual odds in this market.
Round totals	With a round totals bet, you are betting on the final score a player has achieved at the end of a round. Your chosen betting site will set a projected score. You then have to bet whether you think the player’s actual final score will be under or over this total.
Prop bets	In all sports betting, prop bets allow you to bet on smaller, specific elements of a game. In Golf, this gives you the chance to bet on things like a hole-in-one, the nationality of the tournament winner, first round winner, finishing over or under par, longest drive and so on. This is where it can be a good idea to use an online betting site that offers live betting. That way, you can wager prop bets throughout the game after you have a better sense of what could happen.

Golf Betting Tips

As with all betting, it’s a good idea to do some research before placing your wager to ensure you are making an informed decision and giving yourself the best chance of a win. The first three things you’re going to want to look at are current form of the player, the course they are playing on and their history with the course.

When researching the current form of a player, look at their recent history. Have they been on top form or has their performance dropped? Are they recovering from an injury? Have they changed their technique? Or are they working in new clubs? Each of these things can have a big impact on how well the player performs in an upcoming tournament and should be considered before placing your bet.

Once you know the player, look at the course. Are the strengths and weaknesses of the course something the player can navigate, or will they find anything within the course particularly difficult? It’s also good to consider the course in relation to where the player lives. If it is within their country or region, it is likely that they have a history with that course, having had more experience with it than other players in the tournament.

With Golf in particular, weather is a very important consideration. With light balls projected into the air, high winds can have a huge impact on gameplay, forcing players to shorten their drives. Rain is also something to look out for as wetter grounds will force the players to play slower. Also consider how the weather will change throughout the day and at what time of day each golfer will be playing, as a change in conditions, such as the sun drying out the morning damp can make a big difference.

Golf Tournaments

There are many Golf tournaments each providing their own betting opportunities. Here are the top 5 to look out for…

• The Masters
• PGA Championship
• U.S. Open
• The Open Championship (British Open)
• The Ryder Cup