Golf markets require in-depth analysis to understand how to place a bet correctly and get the best value. Here, we explore how to bet on golf, key terminology and some of the most popular bets and strategies to help you analyse golf odds UK.
How Does Golf Betting Work
Golf betting sees you wagering on a particular outcome, such as backing Rory McIlroy at 8/1 to win the 2024 US Open.
For every one unit of stake, eight would have been won had McIlroy got across the line. But it was Bryson DeChambeau from a longer 12/1 quote who won.
A £10 stake on the American would have returned £120 profit, plus the original £10 stake back. All bets on McIlroy would have settled as a loss.
All golf bets involve risk and reward, with the odds indicating the implied probability of an outcome. Because of the longer odds, DeChambeau was given a smaller win probability but nailed the win over the favourite in the final few holes.
Types of Golf Bets Explained
When looking at how to bet on golf online, punters face many different bet types. Here’s a complete rundown.
Outright Winner
The most popular golf betting option is selecting the tournament winner, like Luke Donald, to win the BMW International Open. This is sometimes referred to as money line betting.
Round Leader Betting
A selection of a player to head the leaderboard at the end of a given round. Ties count as a win, so if Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm were tied at three under at the end of the opening round of the John Deere Classic, a First Round Leader bet payout would be given on both.
Finishing Position Markets
Multiple finishing position markets exist, like the Top 5, Top 10, and Top 20. Backing a player in one of these markets, like Tony Finau’s Top 10 Finish at the 2024 Farmers Insurance Open, would have won, as he came in T9, but not if he had been backed for a Top 5 finish.
Top Nationality
Players’ nationalities can be featured instead for an alternative look at how to bet on golf tournaments. The Top European, Top GB & Ireland and Top American are a small number of nationality bets found in golf betting.
To Miss The Cut
A big part of golf is players posting a low enough score to make the cut at the end of day two. A prop bet can be taken on whether a player will or will not make it, like Tommy Fleetwood’s To Miss The Cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
3-Ball Betting
A 3-ball option is picking which of a playing group of three golfers will score the lowest, with the overall tournament standings irrelevant. At the 2024 Masters, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele played together in the first round, with McIlroy carding the lowest score.
Head-to-Head Matchups
A pick of which of two nominated players will produce a lower score in a given round or full tournament. Any other leaderboard standings don’t matter, just who prevails in the head-to-head tournament matchups, which can be between two players from the field and is also called a 2-ball.
Antepost Betting
A long-term forecast of a tournament winner, like Max Homa, to win the following year’s US PGA Championship. Antepose can also be in the form of specials like Wyndham Clark to win a Major in a calendar year.
Each-Way Betting
When taking a selection like Vikor Hovland to win the RBC Canadian Open, an each-way option could be applied to cover a win or place finish. A unit of stake is required for both the Win and the Place parts, with a full payout for a win.
Hovland finishing in the top five spots (or however many places a bookmaker has applied) would mean a place payout at a fraction of the original price, like 1/5 on five places. So a £10 each-way stake (£20 total) on a 10/1 shot that places would return £12.50 (£10 each-way stake and £2.50 profit).
Accumulators
How to bet on golf with accumulators is a common question. It is typically done on the outcome of 3-balls or head-to-heads. Win selections are combined to form an acca, in which all selections must be correct.
Winning Score
There is an over/under option for the winning score at a tournament. It doesn’t matter which player records it; it just matters that the line selected is correct, like over 6.5 covering Tyrell Hatton’s win by seven strokes.
Round Totals
Individual scores can be backed with Round Totals, an under/over line at which a player will complete a round. An over 72.5 pick on Jason Day in the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship in 2024 would have paid out, for example, as he struck 73.
How to Place a Bet on Golf
Your first stop should be checking out the best golf betting sites.
Look for the ‘Sign-Up’ or ‘Join’ button and fill out all the required information, such as date of birth and full address, plus a working phone number and email number.
With the account credentials, you can log in securely to the sportsbook on any platform, including the bookmaker’s betting app. Make a deposit, and the betting on golf can begin.
Look for Golf in the Sportsbook
Use the sportsbook menus to navigate to current and upcoming tournaments. If a tournament is nearing its start or even during one, the golf betting markets will likely be shown on the sportsbook’s landing page.
Note that antepost betting for the four majors will also be listed as a permanent fixture. Even if the current US PGA has just finished, the ante-post on the outrights for the following year’s edition will be posted almost immediately.
Market Selections
A click on a current tournament like the Travelers Championship will bring up the list of available markets for that event. Scroll through the list of markets to find your pick, and click on the odds for it, such as Scottie Scheffler First Round Leader 6/1, to send it to the bet slip.
Look For Bonuses
Look for golf betting bonuses like a money-back special if a backed player finishes as the tournament runner-up. Many online golf betting sites also offer extended places for each-way golf betting and enhanced prices on a particular tournament winner.
Placing The Bet
The bet slip is where multiple bets like accas can be configured. An option to take a selection each-way will also be on the slip. The total odds of the bet are calculated automatically, which means that you just need to enter the stake. Double-check all details and click the Place Bet button to confirm the wager.
Biggest Golf Tournaments to Bet On
With the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LIV Golf and other events, there is plenty of golf betting coverage. Here are some big tournaments to look out for.
The Masters
The only golf major with a permanent home is traditionally played in April at Augusta National in Georgia. The winner is awarded golf’s famous Green Jacket, and Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, and, more recently, Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler have all worn one.
US PGA Championship
The US PGA Championship is played in May, making it the year’s second major. The tournament was established in 1916, and Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods are among the most notable multiple winners. Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Xander Schauffele have been on the board more recently.
US Open
The famous tournament was first played in 1895 and is regarded as the most difficult major to win because of how host courses are set up. The US Open also carries the most prize money, and former winners include Tony Jacklin, Gary Player, and Tiger Woods, with Jon Rahm collecting the honour more recently.
The Open Championship
The Open is the oldest major, first played in 1860. It is rotated among links courses like St Andrews and Royal Troon across the UK. The winner gets the Claret Jug plus the title of “the Champion Golfer of the Year.” Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, and Seve Ballesteros are among the former winners.
The Tour Championship
The Tour Championship is the finale of the PGA Tour season. Qualifiers enter the end-of-season FedEx Cup play-offs based on their accumulated points. The field gets whittled down with each play-off round until the Tour Championship event gives every remaining player a chance to claim the mammoth prize.
The Memorial
The Memorial Tournament golf was founded in the mid-70s and is played at Muirfield Village, a course designed by the great Jack Nicklaus. The tournament is invitational, with only around 70 players as opposed to the 156 in regular PGA Tour events.
Farmers Insurance Open
The Farmers Insurance Open, inaugurated in 1952, is hosted at Torrey Pines in San Diego, California. It’s played across two courses, with players split between the North and South courses for the first couple of rounds. Those who make the cut finish the event on the South Course.
DP World Tour Championship
The European Tour equivalent of the Tour Championship, the DP World Tour Championship event, occurs after the Rolex Series of play-off tournaments, during which players fight to survive to make it to the final tournament.
BMW PGA Championship
Traditionally held in May, the tournament is held at Wentworth in England and is the flagship event of the European Tour. It gives the winner an exemption for the following three Open Championships. As of 2023, only two American players, Arnold Palmer and Billy Horschel, had won the event.
The Ryder Cup
The biannual Ryder Cup is a three-day team contest between Team GB & Northern Ireland and Team USA involving fourballs, foursomes, and singles. The team with the most points at the end of the day wins. Hosting duties alternate between the US and Europe every tournament.
The Olympics
Golf returned to the Summer Olympic schedule at Rio 2016 after being absent since the 1904 Games in St Louis. Britain’s Justin Rose won the 2016 gold medal, and South Korea’s Inbee Park won the women’s gold medal. US duo Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda took the top honours four years later.
Effective Golf Betting Strategies
Create a golf betting strategy UK, a system you can refer back to, tweak and use repeatedly. Here are a few pointers:
First Round Pause
For the 2024 US Open, Scottie Scheffler was a pre-tournament front-runner at Pinehurst, but he finished six shots back of the lead after Round One. Waiting for that first day of play to complete gives excellent insight into how players deal with the course. It provides an opportunity to study the early leaderboard, from which value in the outright market can then be extrapolated.
Finishing Position Markets
Eliminate the risk of picking one of 156 players in a field by looking at the Finishing Positions markets instead. At the 2024 The Players Championship, few punters may have gone for Ludvig Aberg or Maverick McNealy for the win, but they both recorded a Top 10 finish. The scope for picking an outright winner is very narrow. Spread the field.
Safe Golf Betting Tips UK
Golf betting tips UK can be incorporated to help with golfer form analysis. Absorb previews, tips and expert analysis to understand better what may happen. Golf is packed with stats, and there’s much to cover, so let expert tipsters do some of the heavy lifting. Follow tips carefully, and use the information to strengthen your thoughts about a forecast.
Look For Value Bets
Understanding golf betting markets UK can lead to value bet opportunities. For the 2024 BMW International Open, bookmakers made Patrick Reed the 9/1 pre-tournament favourite, assessing him a 10% chance of victory. If your pre-tournament research concluded that Reed had more than a 14% chance of winning, and you, therefore, expected to see him at 6/1, then that’s a value bet situation.
Pros & Cons of Golf Betting
As with all sports betting, there are top pros and cons to be accounted for when betting on golf. Here’s a quick overview of them:
| Pros 👍 | Cons 👎 |
| Great for following with live betting | Outright market is tough to call |
| Finishing Position markets for extended coverage | Golf statistics can be confusing |
| Plenty of market variety | Lots of unknown players |
| Good for each way bet value | |
| Long odds in a lot of markets |
Golf Terminology Explained
Listen to any golf commentary or read insights and reports, and you will learn a lot of golf terminology. Here are some of the key terms to keep in mind.
- Par – The number of strokes a player must complete a hole in. The par total for all 18 holes is the course par (like 72), and the goal is to score as low as possible under par.
- Ace – A nickname for a hole-in-one, where a player sinks the ball from off the tee.
- Albatross – Scoring a par five hole with just two strokes.
- Eagle – Finishing a hole two strokes under par, most commonly scored on Par 5s.
- Birdie – The most common positive score in golf is achieved by scoring one under par on a hole.
- Bogey – A bogey is a hole completed at one over par, like taking five strokes on a par 4.
- Double Bogey – A double bogey is two shots over par for the hole.
- Triple Bogey – Three strokes over par on a hole is called a triple bogey.
- Gimme – A very short putt that a player can agree to give their opponent, meaning they don’t have to play it.
- Scramble – A stat looking at the ability to make par after missing the green.
- Flop – A shot that hits the green from a high elevation, like from a sand wedge.
- Shank – A miscue that flies off to the right because of the club’s heel striking the ball.
- Slice – The curve of a ball in flight from left to right with sidespin and is also called a cut.
- Hook – The cover of the ball from right to left, usually with some top spin on it. It’s also known as a draw.
Betting Tips to Consider Before Placing a Bet on Golf
Consider some key golf betting tips before placing a wager to strengthen your selections.
- Horses for Courses – Course history, the past performance by a player on a specific course, is essential for golf betting strategy UK. A lot can be read into how well a player handles certain conditions and nuances of a particular course.
- Course Type – The course type is a huge factor, as links are more open and prone to winds but typically have more extensive fairways. Parkland courses are known for trees and obstacles and can require a tighter game.
- Weather Conditions – If rain or stiff winds are coming in at Royal Liverpool, a clubhouse leader can have an advantage over players trying to make up ground in rough conditions. Some players also naturally play better in windy conditions than others. Check the weather conditions.
- Current Form – If a golfer has seen their putter go cold or improved driving accuracy has led a player to four Top 20s in the last six tournaments, that current form must be considered. Use it in combination with other areas of research.
- Playing Time – Golf is physically demanding, but players tend to push themselves on long streaks, especially when things are going well. However, a player heading into his seventh consecutive week of golf will likely feel the strain more than a fresher player who just skipped a week for some rest and recovery.
How to Bet on Golf FAQs
Can I cash-out on a golf bookmaker?
Yes. Look under My Bets for any cash-out opportunities on things like an outright winner pick that’s in contention on the final day.
What are the most popular golf bet types?
The most popular golf bets are the tournament winner and backing a finishing position like a Top 5 as win singles.
How do you read golf odds?
Fractional odds like 6/1 means that for every one unit of stake, six are won. As quotes like 15/2 and 10/3 crop up, having a betting calculator handy is a good idea.
Which is the best golf betting site?
Look for Bet365 as one of the leading sites for competitive prices, extensive golf markets, and a great in-play user interface. Bet365 also has a highly-rated mobile app that offers live streaming.
Can I bet on golf live during matches?
Yes. Options for player round totals, outright winner and even the outcome of the next hole are all available through live betting.
How do you bet on two-ball golf?
Instead of backing a player to beat a field of 155 other players, a 2-ball is a pick of one player to beat another on the leaderboard, like Jon Rahm vs Rory McIlroy.