A slow-paced game, Golf is all about skill, the ability to place a ball exactly where you want it, even hundreds of yards away. Golf is, to the casual observer, a very simple game. You play a course of 18 holes, and the aim is to get your ball from the tee and into each hole in the shortest number of shots. Each shot is a strike of the ball. The winner of a match is whoever finishes the full round of 18 holes in the lowest total number of shots.
However, with choice of golf club, conditions and form all affecting a golfer’s performance, a good understanding of easily available golfing statistics can lead to successful betting and plenty of opportunity for profit. In fact, Golf betting is one of the fastest growing sports bet markets today, as new stars raise the games profile and access to the markets have become increasingly easy.
Most Golf betting is carried out on the major professional tournaments, where there is plenty of coverage and analysis, and the best players are all involved. There are four of these, and they are:
In addition, the Ryder Cup is an event held between two teams comprised of the best European players and the Best US players. Other tournaments include PGA Tour events and European tour events, meaning that once you become comfortable with the concept of the Golf betting market, there are plenty of opportunities year-round to make profits.
Women’s golfing is growing rapidly, and each male tournament mentioned has a female equivalent. In the past bettors have often ignored this market, however the Women’s professional game has matured significantly, and today it represents just as good a market for bettors as the mens.
Finding that understanding need tot be a challenge though, betting on golf is not as complex as some would like to suggest, and there are several options for newcomers and experienced bettors alike to find the approach that suits them best.
There are two major markets for Golf betting, the Outright market, which is a bet on who will win a given tournament, or tournament matchups, where you bet on one player finishing ahead of another in the tournament.
Compared to some sports betting markets, this is a very simple approach that lacks a lot of the options you may be used to from betting on Soccer, NFL or other sports. However, that simplicity does make for a good opportunity, and being successful betting on the Golfing market is perhaps more than any other sports bet, all about the statistics.
If you look at any Golfing related site and start viewing performance statistics to spot good betting opportunities in a tournament, your first instinct is very likely to look at scoring averages and driving accuracy to identify the better players. However, while these are important, there are other measures to consider.
The first is Strokes Gains (SG), which shows how many strokes better, or worse the player is in getting to the hole compared to other golfers. The second is Greens in Regulation (GIR), which illustrates how often a player gets the ball to the green in the regulation number of shots for that hole. Finally, the last one is the Fairways in Regulation (FIR) stat, which shows the accuracy of the tee shot, by keeping the ball on the fairway.
These together give a much clearer impression of a given golfer’s performance, and it is a more accurate way to identify the more likely winner in any situation.
Golf betting at first glance offers little in the way of bet variety, at least compared to some other sports, but it is not a sport that is suitable for intricate bets, and the simplicity is actually what makes golf betting so attractive.
The key to success with Golf betting is understanding the players, and with easily accessed data and some time taken to find the right players, any tournament can be a profitable one for Golf bettors. It has a learning curve, and that preparation research does take some time investment, but the rewards are definitely worthwhile.
