How to bet on Golf

Golf is one of the sports that won’t offer you an incredible amount of betting options, but those it offers are definitely very profitable . Golf features a few major events that are run throughout the year, such as The Masters, the US Open, the Open Championship, the PGA Championship, the British Open, and the Champions Tour. While most people assume right off the bat that the only way to bet golf is by picking the winner of an event, there are multiple other betting options actually. America’s Bookie’s Golf Betting section is here to help make the entire process of betting this sport easier, and we also explain all different types of golf betting options more in-depth. So let’s take a look at a few of the golf betting options that are offered currently.

Outright Golf Betting

Outright golf betting is basically picking which player will win the entire event. While betting on a single golfer against the field can be very tough, it can also pay out the highest odds out of any bet out there, especially if you have a good angle on this type of bet. Each player will be given specific odds based on how likely the online betting site thinks that they are to win the event. Typically when you are betting on a player to win a major event, the lowest odds that you will find are about 10/1, meaning that for every $100 that you bet, you would win $1000. When betting on an outright golf bet, you have a great option to take a few players who you think can win the event, and still make a very nice profit if one of these players can win it. Let’s take a look at an example of some odds on an outright golf bet.

Betting on the 2011 Masters:

Steve Stricker: 25/1

Lee Westwood: 20/1

Phil Mickelson: 18/1

Rory McIlroy: 12/1

So in this bet, each player would pay out more than $1200 for every $100 bet on them. As you can see, the payouts on this type of bet are very good, and can give you a nice return on your bet.

Odds to Finish in the Top 3, Top 5, and Top 10

Betting on a player to finish in either the top 3, top 5, and top 10 are great betting alternatives to actually picking a player to win the event, as it is quite a bit easier to finish in the top 10 in comparison to winning it all. Of course the odds won’t be nearly as good if you are betting on a player to finish in the top 10 instead of betting a player to win the event, but you will still get fairly good odds considering how many other players they would have to beat out. We’ll use the example above to see how the odds would be adjusted if you were betting on a player to finish in either the top 3, top 5 or top 10.

Top 3:
Steve Stricker: 18/1

Lee Westwood: 13/1

Phil Mickelson: 10/1

Rory McIlroy: 7/1

Top 5:

Steve Stricker: 16/1

Lee Westwood: 11/1

Phil Mickelson: 8/1

Rory McIlroy: 5/1

Top 10:

Steve Stricker: 12/1

Lee Westwood: 7/1

Phil Mickelson: 5/1

Rory McIlroy: 3/1

As you can see by those odds posted above, they will move around depending on whether you decide to bet the player to finish in the top 3, top 5, or top 10. In the end though, this is an excellent golf betting option which can pay out quite well if you feel strongly about a player finishing well at the event.

Matchup Bets

A golf matchup bet will basically put two players heads up against each other, and your job is to bet which one you think will finish higher than the other. In this bet, the player does not have to actually win the event, but instead just needs to beat out the other. This is one of the most popular types of golf bets, and is definitely the way that most people recommend betting golf. The odds on golf matchup bets won’t be nearly as high as picking an outright winner, but it is a much easier bet to pick. Here is an example of what a matchup bet may look like in golf:

Phil Mickelson: +120

Rory McIlroy: -160

So in this spot if you were to bet on Mickelson, you would bet $100 to win $120 if he finished with a better score than McIlroy. On the other side of things, if you bet on McIlroy to beat Mickelson, you would bet $160 to win $100 since McIlroy is the favorite.

Golf Prop Betting

Golf prop betting is one of the more interesting types of betting options out there, as you can bet things that are more for “fun,” like what color a player’s shirt will be during the second round of the event, or whether or not a player will wear a hat during the event. There are also golf prop betting options which offer things relating to whether or not a hole in one will happen, and also prop bets such as how many majors a player will win in the upcoming year. Prop betting can be very profitable when done the right way, which typically means to focus more on the prop bets that require skill on a players part! Here are a few examples of golf prop bets:

Phil Mickelson’s Major Wins in 2012:

No Majors: -200

1 Major: +220

2 Majors: +800

3 Majors: +3800

4 Majors: +8000

Will A Player Score a Hole in One at the 2012 Masters?

Yes: +110

No: -150

Will Rory McIlroy Wear A Red Shirt in Round 3 of the US Open?

Yes: +240

No: -200

As you can see, the odds on prop bets do vary quite a bit depending on the type of bet that it is, but some of the betting options will give you a very good return on your bet.

Golf Futures Betting

Golf futures betting typically comes down to betting on the winner of the FedEx Cup. The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy that is given for the PGA Tour each year. It is essentially a playoff system in which players earn points based on how they finish in the major events, and also additional points for winning an event. At the end of the season, the top 125 players qualify for the finals, and the players are paid all the way until the champion is crowned, and given an incredible award of $10 million for winning the FedEx Cup. Betting on the winner of the FedEx Cup prior to the season can be tough, but also gives very good odds as well. If you are able to pick the winner of this event before the season, the odds will typically be over +1500. And even if you are able to pick the winner of the FedEx Cup prior to the start of the finals, you will still get odds of around +800 and up. Here is an example of a golf futures bet on the FedEx Cup a little over the halfway mark of the season:

Odds to Win the 2011 FedEx Cup:

Luke Donald: +800

Nick Watney: +1000

Phil Mickelson: +1000

K.J. Choi: +1200

Steve Stricker: +1200

Bubba Watson: +1500

These are a few of the top choices in terms of betting on the FedEx Cup, and there are many other options as well. As you can see this type of bet can be very profitable if you are able to project the winner before hand.

Golf betting has continued to grow in popularity of the past years, and offers sports bettors a very good amount of betting options when it comes down to a golf major. The major golf events are scattered throughout the year, so be sure to keep your eye on which major event will be coming up next in the lineup. Also, don’t forget to check out the rest of our betting articles here at America’s Bookie if you have questions about any of the many other sports betting options that you have out there!