If the idea of playing in a nationwide competition and having the chance to win a stack of cash based on your own ability sounds appealing, then Golflutter, a brand new betting app aimed at amateur golfers, should be your next digital download, says Nick Bayly
For reasons of professional interest, I do like to bet on golf. Having followed the game from a ringside seat for over 20 years, I at least pretend that I know a little more about the players, and the tournament venues, than the average punter, and feel like I have a small, but significant advantage over the people that set the odds.
Sadly, finding an Open champion from a field of 156 is harder than picking the winner of the 30-runner handicap at Royal Ascot, so while there have been some blinding successes (David Toms winning the 2001 US PGA Championship at 100-1 being one), the losses far outweigh the winnings by a margin that I wouldn’t like my wife to ever know about.
Betting on the outcome of events over which you have absolutely no control is where it all goes wrong for most gamblers. This blindingly obvious, but often overlooked, fact, is part of the reason why David Morgan set up Golflutter, a brand new concept in golf betting, which puts you, the golfer, at the very centre of the bet.
Rather than backing Rory or Jordan putting together four good rounds at Augusta, Golflutter allows you the chance to bet on yourself. Not to the win the Masters, of course – we can but dream – but to beat a series of more realistic challenges that you set yourself at your home club, or wherever or whoever you happen to be playing that day. So, if your fourball all place a bet on Golflutter on the same day, there’s a chance that you’ll all come away as winners, rather than just one of you.
Morgan, a keen golfer from the Midlands with a background in industrial engineering, launched Golflutter as a way of allowing golfers to be in control of their own financial success, rather than trusting their money on the whims of another.
“I’ve been passionate about golf for 40 years, and from my experience I know that golfers love to have a bet, whether it be for a couple of beers or a few pounds. We can’t resist it – it is in the DNA of the golfer,” he says. “But sometimes you get matched up with friends or partners who don’t like playing for money, and although they are, of course, utterly entitled to do that, it can mean that some of the competitive fun of golf gets lost.”
He adds: “The premise behind the Golflutter app is that it allows potentially thousands of like-minded golfers who may want to bet on themselves to have a secure and regulated place where they can do just that. Like the Tote’s Jackpot and Placepot in horseracing, golfers’ bets – which are set at £5 – are placed in a pool, with the number of those who successfully complete a variety of challenges [see side bar right] be that to bag a certain number of nett birdies or play a certain number of holes below par, taking a proportionate share of the pot.”
Precisely how much money is paid out depends on how many bets are placed on any given day, and how many winners there are. So while a warm Saturday in June is likely to have a much bigger pot than, say, a wet Tuesday in February, the amount you might win might not be very different, as the bigger pot might be divided up more thinly.
Another bonus is that Golflutter is able to be used by golf club members and non-members alike, because if you don’t already have an official handicap, the app provides one by keeping a record of the first three rounds that you play and then keeps the lowest round of the three as your handicap for the game. There’s a highest handicap limit of 20 to weed out any potential bandits, while most significantly, the app itself picks the holes for each challenge completely at random so that the potential for, shall we say, ‘slips of the pencil’ is avoided.
Golflutter still requires a high degree of honesty, but Morgan is confident that the app’s software, combined with most golfers’ innate sense of fair play, will mitigate against creating a cheat’s charter. “We’ve got extremely sophisticated safety systems in place, and anyone found to be breaking the rules or manipulating the system won’t be paid out,” warns Morgan. ”They will end up being reported to the betting industry watchdog and banned from all forms of gambling.”
Golflutter has all of the UK’s 2,580 18-hole golf courses registered on its system (9-hole courses aren’t included for obvious reasons) with golfer’s smartphone GPS software allowing the app to track golfers are where they say they are when the commence a competition round.
As mentioned, the holes are hidden for each challenge, and not revealed until after the player enters his gross scores into the app. The big reveal of the hidden holes adds an exciting new dimension to post-round banter, especially when you’ve not broken 100, yet discover that your three lonely pars on the back nine were among the counting Golflutter holes.
“With all the doom and gloom surrounding golf at the moment, the game could do with a bit of fun, and I think Golflutter does just that. It adds a bit of spice and excitement to any game, whether you’re playing with your friends, in a society, or on your own against the rest of the world as it were,” says Morgan.
For more details of how to play, visit www.golfflutter.com. To download the free Golflutter app onto your smartphone, search for ‘Golflutter’ in your App Store.
A QUICK GUIDE TO GOLFLUTTER
- REGISTER
Create your account, by entering your name, date of birth, contract details, home club and handicap (if you have one). Golfers without official handicaps will be issued a Golflutter handicap, which will be adjusted after 3 rounds, with a maximum handicap of 20.
- DEPOSIT FUNDS
Each registered played must has a ‘cash wallet’ in which funds are used for putting on bets and receiving winnings. These funds can be transferred via internet banking or Paypal.
- PLACE YOUR BETS
There six different bets on offer, all of which are placed on ‘Hidden Holes’ which are chosen at random by the app, and are therefore not known to the player. Full handicaps apply. The stake is always £5.
Bet 4 – Total nett score of one under par or better for 4 holes.
Bet 6 – Total nett score of one under par or better for 6 holes.
Bet 9 – Total nett score of one under par or better for 9 holes.
BET Birdie – Score a nett birdie or better for ONE of 4 holes.
BET Eagle – Score a nett eagle or better for ONE of 6 holes.
Bet Pairs – Score a net birdie or better on any pair of four pairs of holes.
For example, if you place your £5 on Bet 4, and shoot a one under par total or better of the four holes chosen at random, you are a winner.
- PICK UP YOUR WINNINGS
Winnings will be automatically distributed to your online ‘cash wallet’ within 24 hours of completion of the day’s play after scores are verified.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
– Each bets cost £5.
– All bets must be placed before the game starts. The game begins by pressing ‘start’ on the app.
– Gross scores for each hole must be entered via the app, during or immediately after your round, on the same day of the game.
– All the Rules of Golf must be strictly adhered to. No cheating or colluding will be tolerated.
– Bets can be placed on any 18-hole golf course in the UK.
– Golflutter users must be 18 or older and live in the UK.