When most people think of sports betting, the first sports that come to mind are football, horse racing, cricket, rugby and the big American sports leagues. Golf is one sport that is often overlooked as a betting sport but there is much potential there.
Betting is an incredibly popular pastime in the UK and online sportsbooks are making it easier and more convenient than ever to bet. It’s the perfect time to give sports betting a try if you’ve never considered it before. Betting on golf has been steadily growing in popularity over the last decade as golf attracts more widespread attention.
Just like with any sport, betting on golf comes with its own details that punters should know. Here, we’ll provide a quick rundown of what you’ll need to know about golf betting before teeing off and getting in on the action.
There’s little downtime in the season
Most sports have a dedicated season that ends with a major competition. While technically the PGA does have a season that cumulates in a champion being named, the PGA Tour is much longer than the average sports season. The difference is that there is no real offseason in golf, because it’s an international sport that can move locations with the weather.
For sports bettors, this means that following the stats of every player is a year-round job. This can be time consuming, however, there is only a limited number of golfers who can qualify to be on the PGA Tour.
Know the players
There are only a few big names in the golf world and it can be very easy to fall into the trap of simply picking one of the top players to win any event. In reality, there are around 200 players who are officially ranked and able to compete in the Tour.
Not every ranked player competes in every event and the lineups can change dramatically depending on a number of factors. Bettors need to consider who’s playing, how they’ve played against one another before, weather and climate considerations (not everyone can handle playing in the Florida heat and humidity) and how many events a player has competed in without a break, since exhaustion can be a serious issue for players.
Consider the course
With most sports, the pitch or court doesn’t change very much. The fans might change the mood of a stadium but the actual playing area won’t differ in any real way. With golf, the opposite is true – the course matters almost as much as who’s playing on it.
Knowing courses well can help players make smarter bets. For example, the Brabazon course in Warwickshire is known for its tight fairways and pacy, undulating greens. A golfer who excels on this course may struggle on a parkland course like the Brocket Hall course in Welwyn.
Matchup bets are a good place to start
With so many players in the PGA Tour and the factors of weather or course differences to consider, it can be very difficult to pick an overall winner of any one PGA event. That’s why matchup bets are a popular bet type for new bettors.
With a matchup bet, the bet is placed on which player will win a round matchup, not the tournament as a whole. The bet is only placed on two players, as if the single round is a face-off between two golfers. It greatly simplifies everything that goes into a PGA Tour event, so it’s much easier to make a smart bet.
Other bet types
There is a selection of other bets that are popular on golf. Outrights are bets on who will win a tournament overall. This can be turned into a futures bet on who will be the Champion of the Tour as a whole. Finishing position bets are placed on where in the rankings a specific player will end up. This is also known as a place bet.
Prop bets are popular across most sports and golf is no exception. A popular prop bet is on whether an individual player’s score in a round will be over or under a set number. Others include who will get a hole in one or how many holes in one there will be, what the nationality of the winner will be, and which player will win in each group.
Check the odds
Just like with every sport, an important part of the betting process is comparing the odds offered by various sportsbooks. While loyalty to one sportsbook might be rewarded through a VIP program, shopping around for the best odds can lead to a better payout. It can also help you narrow down which sportsbook you would like to bet with in the long term.
Live betting
Live betting is one of the latest trends in sports betting and should usually be reserved for experienced bettors. With golf, live betting is an option for beginner bettors because the game moves so much more slowly than a football or rugby match. This allows bettors to enjoy the fun of live betting without as much risk of panic betting.
