When it comes to betting on golf one important thing to keep in mind is the sheer size of the sport and the potential betting market. Somewhere in the world, there is always a large tournament being played. Clearly, the USPGA, the most popular golfing association in the world, is the pinnacle of the sport and as such demands your most attention, however, there are plenty of other strong events in other parts of the world that should be on your golf betting radar.
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Golf Betting – Top Five US Sportsbooks
Golf betting is incredibly popular in the US and all major sportsbooks offer a nice variation on which events to back as well as a large number of specific bets you can place on them. To help you find the sports betting provider that might be the right one for you, here’s a list of our top five sportsbooks for golf betting fans.
Draftkings
Originally DraftKings Sportsbook was synonymous with fantasy football but they are now one of the biggest sportsbooks in the country. The variety of betting opportunities here is high and the odds available are very competitive when it comes to golf betting.
BetMGM
When it comes to looking for a sportsbook that makes it simple for you to sign-up, deposit, and collect your winnings, BetMGM Sportsbook has you covered. They offer one of the widest range of payment methods around and their service in this regard is speedier than the rest. Put simply, they are the best at covering the sports betting basics.
PointsBet
PointsBet Sportsbook prides itself on being the home of the best odds around and this is certainly the case when it comes to golf betting. They also offer comprehensive promos for the big tournaments, which makes them very popular with novices.
Bet365
Bet365 Sportsbook is perfect for experienced sports bettors, offering a near-limitless level of betting on just about every sport or discipline. Very much geared to sports betting pros, Bet365 is very hard to beat when it comes to offering a great betting experience.
888
888 Sportsbook hosts perhaps the smoothest sports betting service in town. The fast and easy interface makes the whole betting environment simple to use and they are therefore very good for those who are new to sports betting as a whole. They offer helpful guides as well as great introductory offers and bonuses.
Where is Golf Betting Legal?
The ever-growing list of US states that have legalized sports betting increases almost every month and it can be tricky to keep on top of where it’s currently legal to bet on golf. To make things easier, here is a list of states you can currently legally bet on golf, and to aid you in your golf betting plans, this list will update on a regular basis.
Nevada
Delaware
Rhode Island
New Mexico
Arkansas
Iowa
New York
Oregon
Illinois
Montana
Golf Betting Guide
The professional golf calendar is a crowded one and the best players in the world will have to cover thousands of air miles a year as they take part in events in all corners of the globe.
While the majority of the biggest tournaments take place in the US there are also crucial competitions that happen overseas.
Clearly, the most prized tournaments are those that comprise the ‘Majors’, the four legendary tournaments that are not only worth a lot of money to the players taking part but are also the main areas of concern for golf betting fans.
Majors
The four majors are made up of, in seasonal order, the US Masters, PGA Championship, US Open and the Open Championship. A large percentage of the golf betting market revolves around these showpiece events and as such you should plan accordingly.
It’s very useful to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to injuries and form of the big players ahead of these tournaments.
A regular season on the PGA tour, which is made up almost exclusively of events in the US, is made up of around 48-50 events that run from October to September and see the best in the world battle it out. As well as this there is the European PGA tour, which runs around 45 tournaments, and be aware that these don’t occur only in Europe but also include events in the Middle-East, South Africa, China, and Australia.
This gives you an idea of just how many tournaments there are in a golfing year, and this means there is pretty much almost always a big event to back with a good golf bet, all year round.
Ryder Cup
As well as the PGA tours there is the hugely popular Ryder Cup that sees stars around the world go head to head in a team format that sees European players take on a team made up of pros from the US and the rest of the world.
This event is one of the biggest in terms of the size of the betting market and only occurs every two years and is so large that even those who may not follow golf on a regular basis, do take a big interest in the Ryder Cup and will regularly make a wager on the event.
Golf Betting Types
Golf is one of the best sports to bet on due to the almost never-ending possibilities when it comes to the types of bets you can place. These can range from straightforward outright bets on tournaments all the way to ‘in-play’ bets on each and every stroke of a player’s round.
Here is an in-depth look at the types of golf bets you can expect to make.
Tournament Outright Betting
Simply put, this is basically a chance for you to select the player you think will win a specific tournament. Each player, from Tiger Woods to Jordan Spieth, is given odds from a sportsbook and you can decide if they are worth backing. Clearly, each brand will offer different odds and this is where you might find yourself shopping around for the best odds.
Each-Way Betting
This is something of an insurance bet. As opposed to outright betting where you are backing a player to win a tournament, an each-way bet basically means you are betting on a player to complete the event with a top five finish (this is usually where the ‘each-way’ market is set, though some sportsbooks vary on this).
Clearly, the odds on a player will decrease when compared to an outright bet, but this gives you a better chance of a win.
First Round Leader Betting
A golf tournament is made up of four rounds, with the cut (where a set amount of players will be axed from the event), which happens at the end of round two. A nice bet to get going within a tournament is backing the player who will be top of the leaderboard after the first round. In this type of bet, you could try backing an underdog who could start well (before inevitably fading).
Head to Head Betting
It’s fair to say that the pro golfing world revolves heavily around a dozen or so players who are the ‘big boys’ in the tour. A head-to-head bet will be offered by some sportsbooks where you select which of two players will do better.
These two players may well be part of a pair on the course itself, or could just be two players the sportsbook deems worthy of comparing. You’d then select which of the two will perform better.
Vs the Field Bet
This kind of bet is usually reserved for the last round. Essentially you are betting on a leader to fall at the last hurdle. So for instance, if Rory McIlroy is leading the Masters by four strokes ahead of the fourth round, you might bet that someone behind him will make that late run to beat the Northern Irishman.
Here you are betting on any player doing so, and that can prove a very exciting bet to make as the final holes play out. Similarly, in this example, you could bet on McIlroy holding his nerve, but clearly, the odds would be less as he already has a handy lead.
Hole-in-One Betting
This is where you bet on the chances of a hole-in-one happening during a specific tournament. This kind of bet is perhaps more popular with those less confident with betting on the tournament as a whole, who are just opting to bet on a very unlikely shot being played.
Golf Futures
These are one of the most popular types of bets in golf. Ahead of a major event, you’d back a player to triumph, you may even make this bet months before it tees off, and you are therefore making the entire tournament an exciting venture.
Futures bets are always a good solid bet to make and one that isn’t instantly completed and therefore becomes a more enjoyable accompaniment to the tournament itself. Futures bets can also revolve around who finishes the PGA season as number one, a player winning more than one major, or even winning all four (otherwise known as the Grand Slam).
Golf Prop Betting
Prop bets, in whatever sport they are offered in, are a nice quirky way to bet on an event and are very popular with those who might not be experts in a particular sport. These are very nuanced and pinpointed types of bets that can not be categorized among the other types of bets we’ve outlined.
Here are a few examples of golf prop bets.
Top Australian (Betting on which Australian will finish highest on the leaderboard)
Will there be a double eagle?
Will the tournament be won by a player over the age of 35?
Tiger Woods to make the cut?
It should be noted that prop bets vary depending on the sportsbook you are using. It’s also good to know that some brands are far more creative when it comes to prop bets, so look around before you sign-up if this is something that you value highly.
Golf In-Game Live Betting
Live, or ‘in-play’, betting is a hugely popular way to bet on golf. This is mainly due to the ever-changing aspect of tournament play. The leaderboard is forever shifting and players’ fortunes can change and turn on every single shot.
Therefore golf live betting offers bettors an infinite number of opportunities to win. You can bet on each and every stroke as you watch but be very careful about laying these bets and always err on the side of caution.
Don’t make any rash impulsive decisions and try to be as informed as possible before you complete the transaction you are about to make. In-play betting clearly makes the experience of watching the event more enticing but do so sparingly.
Golf Betting FAQs
Is It Legal to Bet On Golf Online?
Yes. If sports betting is legal in the state you are placing your bet in, then you can legally bet on golf. You don’t have to be a resident of the state but you’ll have to be physically in the state to place the bet. All sportsbooks have geo-location technology and you can’t access these via a VPN.