Golf betting can be a fun and exciting way to add an extra layer of entertainment to watching your favourite tournaments. However, if you’re new to sports wagering sites, it can also be confusing and daunting. Sports fans like to make decisions with their heart when they place a bet on their favourite golfer. Real betting, however, demands a cool head if you want to enjoy the game while making some money.
This guide will teach you the basics of betting on golf and guide you towards the different types of bets you can make, show you how to interpret golf betting odds, and offer some tips and tricks for improving your chances of winning. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll have grown from a bookmakers’ favourite who consistently loses money to a savvy and successful punter they fear.
Golf Betting Quick Tips:
- If you’re a new player, start with an outright bet.
- Many experienced users rely on each-way betting to reduce risks.
- Once you choose a wagering market, stick with it.
- The key to winning regularly is to understand how odds work.
- No golf betting guide will help you if you don’t perform proper research.
- Learn to manage your bankroll and don’t chase your losses.
- Check what bookies have to offer to get your betting career off to an excellent start.
The Basics of Golf Betting
The key to successful golf wagering isn’t as simple as checking the latest golf scores on the PGA European tour to see who’s winning. To be a successful golf bettor, you have to really do your research about golf and understand how the odds are calculated.
Golf betting odds represent the likelihood that a particular outcome will occur. This is also known as implied probability, which is a crucial betting tip for beginners. Odds can be shown in different formats: fractional (1/1); moneyline, which is popular in the US (100); and decimal, which is primarily used in Europe (2.0).
We’ll focus mainly on decimal odds. The first thing you need to know is that the lower the number in decimal odds, the more likely the outcome is to happen.
Implied Probability
The best golfers competing in any given golf tournament will be represented at the shortest odds. For example, if we look at the 2022 US Masters, which is coming up at the time of writing this article, some bookmakers have Jon Rahm as the favourite at decimal odds of 11, while the least-fancied golfers have odds of more than 5,000. You can calculate the chances the bookies give each golfer of winning through the formula for implied probability, which is the basis for all golf betting tips.
To do this, divide 1 by the decimal odds, then multiply the result by 100. In the case of Rahm, the implied probability will be (1/11) x 100, which equals a 9.09% chance of him winning the tournament, according to the bookies.
Skewed Picture
The truth is that the odds for the best players are usually disadvantageous to you. Their real chances of winning are never quite as good as what the bookies will make them seem. After all, even athletes with outstanding sports records will occasionally have a bad day.
However, for a newcomer to wagering, putting money on the best golfer might seem like a surefire bet. Inexperienced golf tipsters probably lack some of the information required to accurately assess a golfer’s form. Whatever the case, bookies plan for bettors to make these logical errors by offering odds that paint the favourites as almost invincible. Hence, the first rule of golf betting is to understand and study the odds diligently, especially when the favourites are involved.
Expected Payoff
The other function of odds is helping you figure out how much you stand to gain financially from winning a bet. Multiply the stake and odds, then subtract the stake from the result. This will come in handy for figuring out whether the latest golf odds are worth the risk. If you bet £15 on a wager with decimal odds of 21 and win, you’ll get (£15 x 21) – £15, or £300, which might be enough to accept the risks that come with that bet.
Golf Betting Types
Golf betting is most often done by wagering on which golfer will finish first, or by predicting their final score. However, you can also place many other sorts of bets on golf. We’ll cover the most popular options here.
Value Bet
When making a value bet, you’re trying to figure out the chances of a specific player winning, which is a common thread among betting tips for golf. This allows you to assess whether or not you think the odds are valuable.
To decide whether a specific bet represents value for you, you first need to estimate the probability of the result, then multiply that by the decimal odds. After that, you’ll deduct one from the result and then multiply it by 100.
For example, let’s say there’s a particular player whose odds of winning the US Masters are 8 among the bookies, but who we believe has a 15% chance of winning. If we put this into the formula ((8 x 0.15) – 1) x 100), we get an estimated value of 20%. Any figure above 0% suggests that there’s value to be had, so 20% represents a worthwhile bet.
One of the best bet tips we can give you is to always look for value opportunities in every wager. Value bets are bets where the golf betting odds are in your favour, meaning you think the golfer has a better chance of winning than the odds suggest. Identifying value bets can be difficult, but it’s worth doing your research to find them.
Each-Way Betting
One of the most popular forms of wagering in golf is each-way betting. This is a golf betting system in which you place two stakes simultaneously. One bet is on the golfer to win the tournament, while the other is for the same player to finish within one of the positions labelled on the betting slip.
Golf tournaments can accept up to 140 players, which is why each-way betting is usually in high demand. Let’s say you bet on a golfer to win at 7.5 odds. The odds of that player finishing in the top five are, in this case, three times shorter: 2.5. Since we’re making two bets, we’ll pay £10 each, or £20 in total.
Our theoretical foray into golf betting online ends happily – our golfer wins the tournament! We get £10 x 7.5, or £75 for the first bet (including the £10 stake returned). Since she also finishes in the top five, we also receive £10 x 2.5, or £25. If our player were to finish sixth or lower, we’d lose the wager.
First-Round Leader
In some cases, one of the best reasons for betting is to get on a surprise early leader at long odds. The golfers who begin early in the first round often play under the best conditions. One of our free golf betting tips is to try to pick the first-round leader if you know what the weather will be like.
You’re betting on a specific player ending up in the top spot after the first round. For this kind of bet, it’s crucial to know about the golfer’s playing style and how well they typically start tournaments. While some golfers feel more comfortable and excel during the opening round, others often lose their cool and play terribly.
Other crucial factors are the weather and course conditions, which often combine to significantly affect how your betting on golf will play out. Wind or rain that starts as the day goes on can substantially affect how players perform. Rain makes the grass softer and can cause bunkers to become a true nightmare if the ball ends up there.
Top 10 and Top 20 Finish
As the subheading implies, this type of bet involves wagering on a golfer finishing within the top 10 or 20 in the tournament. Many avid punters prefer to bet on those players who regularly participate in tournaments and make it onto the leaderboard, but never quite make it to the top. Bookmakers don’t usually pay as much attention to these golfers, so bettors can often get decent odds when betting on them.
Top Nationality
People of all nationalities like golf, tips, and betting, but there’s nothing quite like placing a wager on your countryman or woman taking home the trophy. This bet allows you to bet on a specific player beating all others of the same nationality.
These wagers can offer plenty of excitement if there are three or more participants from the same country playing. However, be careful when placing bets on countries with dozens of golfers participating in the tournament. Too many options can make the outcome more difficult to predict.
Golf Betting Tips and Tricks
A successful golf bettor needs to know much more than the US open golf scores or the form of European golfers to absorb golf tips and make betting choices that will bring them money. Here are the most effective tips and practical advice for every punter to understand.
Analyse the Golfer’s Form and the Course
Not every golf course will sit well with every player. It’s common to see a player consistently excelling in one or two tournaments but putting in subpar performances on other courses. For some, narrow fairways lined with trees and hilly terrain do not gel with their playing style. Only the most accurate and consistent golfers will succeed in such conditions.
Courses with strong winds favour golfers who are experts at low ball flight or those who are patient enough to assess the windy weather and make it work for them. If you’re looking for open golf betting tips for wide-open courses, you should know that long bombers typically perform better here than more conservative players.
Each player’s overall form is another significant factor you need to think about before placing your next bet. It’s usually best to focus on players who have won or at least placed in one of their past five tournaments.
Wagering on new players who have yet to score a tour event win is not recommended for new bettors. While their odds are likely to be juicy, their lack of experience in major tournaments could really hurt their chances. You should also avoid betting on golfers who are struggling with sports injuries that may affect their performance.
Each-Way Betting with a Fixed Bankroll
Any good golf form guide will tell you that each-way wagering is an excellent way to mitigate risks. With these wagers, you can still make a profit if the player you’ve selected finishes within the top five or six golfers but fails to win. The potential payouts aren’t as good as outright betting, but you’re much more likely to win at least something for your efforts.
It’s important to stick to a fixed bankroll and avoid overstepping your self-imposed financial limits. For example, you can limit yourself to £10 per week and focus on only one tournament. These fund caps will prevent you from chasing your losses. They will also help you regulate your betting budget, control your winnings and losses, keep your digital wallet balance healthy, and become one of the masters of live betting odds.
Choose a Fair Bookmaker
The last step is to open an account at the bookmaker with the fairest odds. When choosing a sportsbook, you should focus on its reputation, making sure to avoid betting on shady sites where your funds and data might be at risk.
Welcome bonuses offer excellent incentives for newcomers and a nice start to your gambling adventure, so always compare the site’s welcome promotions to see which one is the most profitable for you. That said, not all bookmakers accept golf bets. Hence, if a site doesn’t have PGA betting odds, it most likely isn’t for you.
Conclusion
Choosing the right player, the right course, the perfect venue, and the best market to cover doesn’t have to be a frustrating experience. With these practical and effective suggestions, any punter can start making wise betting decisions while getting an extra kick out of professional golf.