How to Bet on Golf

Golf is one of the most popular sports to bet on and is also one of the easiest to understand because the bet types are fairly straightforward.

If you enjoy watching golf and want to place a wager on any major upcoming golfing events in 2024, here are some useful golf betting tips to get you started.

Important things to remember before betting on any golf event

Before placing a bet on any professional golf event, you must find a fully licensed and regulated online sportsbook that is controlled by a reputable company with excellent standing in the iGaming industry.

Today’s most trusted online bookmakers will have competitive odds and a wide range of golf betting markets for each golfing event.

Before signing up anywhere, the best thing to do would be to read reviews of the best bookies that offer golf betting on a trusted website.

Their dedicated team of researchers have carefully scoured the web and handpicked the best golf betting sites. Each site is expertly reviewed using the same reliable vetting process before being recommended as a top golf betting site worth signing up to.

You can access their featured sites from any modern internet/Wi-Fi-connected mobile device or desktop computer and register your free account in under a minute, provided you are at least 18 years old.

Some of the other popular sports to bet on at these same trusted online bookmakers are tennis, cricket, football, basketball, Formula 1, horse racing, boxing, darts, ice hockey, American football, rugby, and greyhound racing, to name a few.

How to bet on golf on a reputable sports betting site

Betting on golf is relatively straightforward, but before you place bets for the first time on a reputable iGaming site you have decided to join, always start by setting a reasonable budget.

When you log in to your new account, go to the ‘safer gambling tools’ (aka ‘safe mate’ or ‘responsible gambling’) section to set a range of controls. For example, to ensure you don’t overspend, you might want to set win/loss limits, session time reminders, and deposit limits.

When you are ready to bet on your chosen website, go to the sportsbook section and click or tap on the golf sports betting button. Doing so will bring up a wide range of upcoming and in-play golf events you can bet on. Examples include the following:

  • PGA Tour
  • LIV Golf
  • LPGA Tour
  • Team Events
  • The Majors

When you find an event you want to bet on, click or tap the appropriate link to explore the available markets/bet types and odds.

Pre-match betting and outright betting are betting before an event starts, which could be one minute, three months, or longer before the event starts.

In-play betting (aka live betting) is a service that lets you bet during an event as it plays out. Some of the top betting types you are most likely to come across in golf are the following:

  • Tournament winner/outright winner
  • Top-10 finish
  • 3-ball betting
  • 2-ball betting
  • Miss/make the cut
  • Various player specials
  • Each way golf betting (E/W)
  • To make the top 5/10/20
  • Head-to-head golf betting

To add a bet to your betslip, click or tap on any of the odds for your chosen bet type, enter your stake on the betslip, and then confirm the bet to complete it. It’s that simple. If your bet wins, the winnings will be credited to your account shortly after the event has ended.

Final thoughts

Some betting sites let you change how the odds are displayed. For example, in North America, people tend to prefer the American/moneyline odds format. In the UK, the fractional odds format is preferred; in most other countries, they use the decimal odds format.

Simply choose a format that you are more comfortable with and then stick with it.

Finally, before betting, always read between the lines and carefully try to figure out exactly what the odds are trying to tell you.

It can help you place more informed bets that have a much greater chance of returning a profit. However, no bets are guaranteed, even when betting on the favourites. Also, try to avoid placing too many bets on the underdogs/outsiders.

It doesn’t mean to say they never win, but it’s a quick way to lose your money by constantly betting on the underdogs.