How Do You Bet on Golf?

Betting on golf is a little different than placing wagers on team sports, but there’s a huge market for it. While some sportsbooks offer action on other golf leagues, most only allow you to bet on the PGA Tour. Fortunately, the PGA Tour schedule runs almost all year. The 2022-23 season, for instance, began with the Fortinet Championship on September 15. The season will conclude with the Tour Championship on August 24.   There are tournaments almost every weekend of the year, although the field for these tournaments usually differs each week. Players might take a week or two off to rest and prepare for the majors (Masters, US Open, PGA Championship, and The Open Championship) or participate in events hosted by the PGA European Tour.    With the exception of special events like the Ryder Cup, every golf tournament is four rounds of 18 holes. Players don’t compete head-to-head or in team competitions like the newly-established LIV Golf. Instead, golfers try to shoot the lowest total score over four rounds to win the tournament.    The moneyline is the most common type of head-to-head bet, but in golf, the outright winner is the most common bet. It’s also where you can find the most value.

Top 5 Rated Sportsbooks For Golf Betting

Outright Winners

  The outright winner is the most common bet in golf. Depending on the sportsbook, these bets might only be offered prior to the start of the tournament, although many offer live betting opportunities with updated odds based on the current standings. This is a tough bet to win as there are usually dozens of golfers participating in each tournament. Of course, the player on whom you bet needs to win the tournament for you to win money.   Betting markets open early for each of the four majors. Let’s take a look at the outright betting market for the 2023 US Open as an example of how outright betting works. As of December 2022, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy have the shortest odds to win the tournament at +1000 each. This means you could win $1000 on a successful $100 bet on either to win the tournament.   Players odds are informed by their past performances, history at the course at which the tournament is played, and type of course. Odds might be as high as +25000, depending on the player – Padraig Harrington, for instance, is a +25000 to win the 2023 US Open.  

Each-Way Bets

  Each-way bets are similar to outright winner bets, but allow you to win money even if the player on whom you bet doesn’t win the tournament. They must, however, finish in a certain spot in the final standings, i.e. top five or top 10. Each-way bets are two separate bets made at once. Obviously, you can win the entire payout if your golfer wins the tournament. If they don’t win but still finish within the range you bet then you can win that half of the each-way bet.   The each-way bet is shown as such: Rory McIlroy +1500 (Each-way 1/4 1-2-3-4-5). Assuming McIlroy wins the tournament, you would win $1500 on a $100 wager. You would also win 1/4 of that total in the placing portion of the each-way bet as he finished in the top five. So, your total winnings would be $1,875.  

Head-to-Head and 3-Way Bets

  Golf isn’t a head-to-head sport, but bookmakers usually offer matchup-style betting pitting two random players against each other. In this case, the bet will resemble a moneyline bet, i.e. Justin Thomas (-110) vs. Tiger Woods (+110). These bets can be made for the entire tournament or just one of the four rounds. The player with the lower score wins the bet.    The three-way bet simply adds another player to the mix and gives the bettor a chance to earn more on a similar wager.   

Golf Betting Props

  You don’t just have to bet on who will win a tournament or which player will do better in a head-to-head matchup. Like every other sport, there are plenty of prop betting opportunities in golf. Bettors can often wager on whether there will be a hole-in-one during a round and even try to win more money by predicting the player that scores the hole-in-one. Other individual round prop bets include betting on if a golfer will have a bogey-free round.   Future prop bets are also quite common in golf betting. Many online sportsbooks allow bettors to select the highest finisher from each country at some tournaments. For instance, you can bet on which American golfer you think will do the best at the Masters. That player doesn’t have to win the tournament, but just has to do better than every other golfer with the same nationality.    Other prop betting options include how many strokes the champion will win by and whether or not the tournament will go to a playoff.  

Golf Betting Tips

 

Follow Tournaments Closely

  Like any other sport, the best way to increase your chances at success in betting on golf is to follow the sport closely. Keep an eye on which players are performing well and which players are struggling. Golf is just like any other sport in that players experience hot and cold streaks. If a golfer has five top-10 finishes in his last six tournaments, it might be a sign that he’s due to break through and win a tournament.   

Know the Course

  It’s also vital to know the course at which the tournament is played and how each golfer has performed there in the past. Matt Fitzpatrick, for instance, won the 2022 US Open. He wasn’t a heavy betting favorite for that event, despite the fact he had prior success at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, where the tournament was played. Fitzpatrick won the US Amateur nine years prior at The Country Club.   

Check Out Advanced Metrics

  Golf doesn’t have as many stats as most other sports, but there are some advanced metrics you can look at to get an idea of how well a golfer is playing. Strokes Gained is one of the most useful stats as it measures a golfer’s performance from each shot compared to other golfers on the PGA Tour. Strokes Gained is measured in the following four categories: off the tee, approach, around the green, and putting.    If a player leads the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained putting and is playing at a course with relatively difficult greens, they may have an even bigger advantage over their competition.