Golf appeals to many punters as a great sport to bet on, as it produces a plethora of regular big-priced outright tournament winners. But there are also a variety of other ways that you can on golf at shorter odds, including two-ball, three-ball, and match betting.
But anyone that plays golf or watches the sport regularly knows that predicting who will win is far from an exact science. Golf winners tend to enjoy their fair share of good luck, with the ball bouncing kindly, chips-ins, hole-outs from the middle of the fairway, and the rub of the greens with the putter.
However, the plethora of stats that are available for golf does give you a chance to narrow down the field at many courses and improve your odds of winning at golf betting.
What Golf Markets Should I Bet On?
For many punters, betting on golf is about betting on big-priced selections to win tournaments. This isn’t easy, as fields of 156 player line-up in an average PGA Tour or European Tour event. Not forgetting the many other tournaments such as the Asian Tour. But for many punters, the potential reward outweighs the risk.
The key to your success when betting on golf can also come down to finding the best bookies for golf betting as odds can vary drastically from one to another.
Lots of punters also love to bet each-way on golf, as even the place rewards can be massive, especially with lots of bookmakers offering enhanced each-way terms on many golf tournaments.
Each-way betting on golf used to be ¼ odds 4 places, but you can now regularly get 1/5 odds 8 places on most weekly golf tournaments. Some bookmakers have even been known to bet 1/5 odds 10 places on big events such as the majors.
A £10e/w bet on golf will cost you £20, but £10e/w on a 100/1 shot will bag you a return of £210 even if your selection only hits the frame. Of course, if your golfer wins, you’ll also get another £1,010.
While the attraction of big odds is easy to see, some golf punters prefer to stick to the type of smaller odds bets that are associated with two-ball, three-ball, and match betting.
Two-ball and three-ball betting normally takes place between the two or three players that are grouped together for a round and the bet takes place over 18 holes. Match betting is different in that bookmakers randomly pair together two players over 10 or 72 holes that they think have a similar chance.
How To Pick Golf Winners
When some of the top golfers bring their A-game to a tournament, they can win just about anywhere. But there’s no doubt that some courses are a better fit for some golfers than others.
Golf is traditionally broken down into four key areas, driving, approach play, short game, and putting, while each of these categories also feature a variety of subheadings.
Power and accuracy are the two key fundamentals of driving and, while the likes of Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson score highly on both counts, most golfers normally drive the golf ball straight or far.
The lengths of a golf course, the width of the fairways, and the length of the rough all need considering when you’re thinking about how a golfer’s driving will affect his performance at courses. Long courses tend to demand a good mix of power and accuracy, while accurate drivers relish short courses with narrow fairways and thick rough.
Players that hit it far but all over the place often enjoy what are called resort courses, which are set up to suit holiday golfers and are therefore set up easier than a major venue.
It’s generally perceived in golf that hitting the greens is easier from the fairways, and that’s true. But in tough sets ups, like at a US Open, nearly everyone hits it in the rough. That means power is a massive advantage, as hitting out of the rough with a 9-iron is much easier than it is with a 6-iron.
Where greens are traditionally tough to hit, players with razor-sharp short games can gain stokes over the field by getting up from around the greens and out of bunkers. On days when the wind makes accuracy difficult, players with top short games are at a big advantage.
Many golf tournaments are simply won by the guy who takes the fewest putts, especially if he’s hit a lot of greens in regulation. Some players can putt well on any type of greens, but many prefer either Bermuda grass or Poa Annua. Some also prefer lightning-fast greens that run about 13 on the stimpmeter, while others are more comfortable when they’re running at around 10-11 on the Stimp.
Luckily, lots of golf statistics are readily available online. You can see how players have played at many golf courses, while the PGA Tour offers a wealth of performance-related stats that can point you in the direction of golf betting winners.
When analyzing statistics, it’s a good idea to try and work out whether you think a course should be a good fit for a player, then work out if they’re in the sort of form that will let them take advantage of it. Also keep an ear to the ground for news about whether a player has got a new coach, new equipment, caddy, etc, as any of these could help a player take a step forward.
Understanding a player’s motivations can also help you find golf winners. Sure, you’d think that playing for a huge first-prize every week would motivate most players, but you need to remember that the best professional golfers are already multi-millionaires.
Many top players up their games for the biggest events, such as the majors and the world golf championships, as these carry the biggest prizes and the most world ranking points. It’s also a good idea to listen to player interviews, especially when they say this is a tournament they’d love to win.
World rankings help players get into tournaments at different levels, and a top-50 ranking opens just about every door. A top-100 ranking also gets players into most of the top tournaments, so players that are just inside or outside these thresholds may be trying as though their careers depend on it.
Qualification for big team events like the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup can also be highly motivating, especially for players that have enjoyed playing in these matches before.
Free Golf Bets
Many bookmakers offer you free bets for opening an account with them and many allow you to use these free bets to bet on golf. If you’ve not yet claimed these offers, then doing so can keep your cash layout down while you find your feet as a golf bettor.
Many bookmakers also offer golf concessions, such as the enhanced place terms we’ve already mentioned. But some bookmakers go one step further, with promotions such as money-back if a stated player wins the tournaments. If these bookmakers are top odds about a player you want to bet on, it’s a no-brainer to bet with them in this scenario.
Best Golf Betting Tipsters
While picking a big-priced winner of a golf tournament will give you a big buzz, there’s certainly no disgrace if you’re struggling to pick golf winners. There’s a lot of information and statistics to consider and not many people can dedicate the time to it.
That’s why it’s easier to follow the tips of golf tipsters. You’ll find many free golf betting tips online, but many of these are sponsored by bookmakers or make their money by affiliate marketing to betting sites.
That’s why you might want to consider paying for a subscription to a professional PGA golf tipster that makes his money by finding his subscribers winners.
We hope this will help you learn how to win at golf betting.
