Betting On Golf
Golf is one of the oldest sports that is still being played across the world today. It is unclear exactly when and where the game of golf started but it is generally accepted that the game of modern golf originated in Scotland during the 15th century. Whilst stick and ball games have been around for many centuries, the modern game of golf as we know it was first referenced in a 1457 Act of the Scottish Parliament prohibiting the playing of golf and football as they distracted soldiers from archery practice. An edict from King James II of Scotland himself which he later removed when he became a golf player himself.
Fast forward from this royal seal of approval and golf has become one of the most popular sports in the world. It is played and enjoyed across the world and also attracts huge amounts of betting money on tournaments. With most of these tournaments running over four days, golf provides bettors with many different markets, both pre-tournament and in-play, to bet on and big priced winners can happen often.
Golf Scoring
Each of the 18 holes in golf is given a “Par Score” and this par score indicates the amount of strokes/shots a “skilled” golfer should need to complete that particular hole in. These par scores will typically add up to a total of 72 across an 18 hole course, but some may be slightly lower or slightly higher. These par scores are distributed as follows:
3 par - It should take a skilled player three strokes to complete the hole
4 par - It should take a skilled player four strokes to complete the hole
5 par - It should take a skilled player five strokes to complete the hole
If you complete the hole in fewer strokes than the par score then you are said to be “under par”. If you complete it in more strokes then you are “over par”. The aim of the game is to complete the 18 holes in the lowest amount of strokes compared to other players. If you do this you will win the game.
Hole Scores:
The names below are generally used when describing the scores for each hole:
Bogey = One shot more than par (+1)
Par = Completing the hole in the par score, so a par 3 is completed in three shots. Shown as Even (E)
Birdie = One shot under par (-1)
Eagle = Scoring two under par (-2)
Albatross = Scoring three under par (-3)
Condor = Scoring four under par (-4). Only recorded four times.
Golfing Competitions
There are professional tours happening in almost every part of the globe, the main ones being the “Race to Dubai” (formerly known as European Tour) and the US PGA Tour. These tours run for almost the entire 12 months of the calendar year and attract regular betting interest but it is the majors that really bring in the big stakes.
There are four majors in golf:
- The US Masters
- The PGA Championship
- The US Open
- The Open Championship
These events attract huge amounts of betting activity and global media attention. What is great for us, in terms of betting, is that these majors also attract lots of offers from the bookies. A special mention also to the Ryder Cup which attracts a massive amount of media coverage and betting money. The Ryder Cup takes place every two years and is a team competition between players from Europe and the United States. If you are not a golf fan and haven’t seen the Ryder Cup before then it is well worth a watch - there is nothing really quite like it anywhere else in the golfing world.
Betting On Golf (Stats)
There are many different markets in golf that you can bet on. The most popular ones are:
Winner Market
This is the main market for any tournament and you would bet on who you would expect to win the tournament. You will also be able to bet each-way on this market as well which means if your player finishes in a set position then you could also win money even if they don’t win the whole thing. Bookies will often offer extra place positions up to 10 places for the big tournaments. Therefore if your player finishes tenth then you will still get some returns from an each-way bet. You can expect to see some really high odds for players and there have been occasions when these high odds have won. One notable high odds winner was Ben Curtis who won the 2003 Open Championship having started as a 300-1 rank outsider!
Top 5 and Top 10 finish
Slightly different to an each way bet, with this you can bet on a player to finish in the top 5 or top 10 of a tournament.
Victory Margin
In this market, you can bet on the number of strokes/shots a tournament winner will triumph by
First Round Leader
With this market you can bet on who you think will be leading the tournament after the first round is complete. There are even some bookies who will pay out your bet as winning the whole tournament if your player is leading after the first round.
How to win betting on Golf
Golf tournaments generally have very large fields of competitors making it difficult to pick a winner each time. There are so many variants that can come into play which means that statistics do not always translate to performance. There have also been many occasions where a player has been multiple shots ahead only to then go on and lose the tournament. On the face of it the favour is always with the bookie long term but what if there was a way that you could make profit regardless of the final outcome? Well, there is and it is called Matched Betting with Profit Accumulator.
What is Matched Betting?
Matched Betting is a way of taking advantage of the hundreds of free bet offers dished out by bookies. Although it has betting in the name there is no real gambling involved as, unlike normal betting, we cover all possible outcomes of an event. This means regardless of the result we can make profit and turn those free bets into real cash!
Keen to Get Involved?
The great news is you don’t need to be a sports fan or betting fanatic to sign up and use Profit Accumulator. Many of our members are not sports fans and had never placed a bet in their lives but that doesn’t stop them from making some tax-free cash.
For more info on what matched betting is, check out these articles: