Golf Betting Guide

Golf betting is an attractive pastime due to the opportunities for making substantial profits from low stakes. Outright winners with odds of 200-1 are relatively common and the key challenge for the golf punter is picking out the possible winners (or at least top 5 finishers). Hopefully these notes will help you pick who’s hot and who’s not.

Our aim is to pick players with a good chance of a pay out at higher odds, typically at least 33-1. Quite often a high priced outsider will return a bigger payout from an each-way place than a short priced favourite winning. If you apply some or all of these rules to your golf bets then hopefully you will see an upturn in your punting form!

Current Form

This is the most important single factor in determining a player’s chances. We look for the first signs of an uplift in a player’s form, usually before the bookies cotton on. Only the really top players can hold consistent form for a long period so it’s a case of trying to pick when a golfer is about to ‘catch fire’. Most tour pros in the ‘journeyman’ category tend to have two or three big weeks in a season so if you find someone in solid cut-making form who’s posting top 20 finishes then they should be considered for a small punt – especially if they have some course form to back it up.

Course Form

Clearly a player who has performed well at a specific venue in the past may well do so again. Rather than focus in on previous top 5 finishes, it is better to look at a player with a solid series of top 20s rather than just lumping some money on the guy who finished third last year. They will rarely be available at value prices.

If you can put together solid course form and solid current form then you might have a winner!

The difference between a top 20 and a top 5 is often just a couple of shots. It’s worth considering in a game of fine margins.

Watch the Rookies

Four rookies won on the PGA Tour in 2012, all at big prices. Keep an eye on the end of season Web.com Tour stats to see who’s coming onto the PGA tour and where their strengths might lie. This is another area where you can get the jump on the bookies. If a rookie starts showing a bit of form then they must be considered especially later in the season when they may need to retain their card. Both Charlie Beljan and Jonas Blixt won and Jason Kokrak had a top 5, both at massive prices in that last few weeks of the 2012 season.

Jordan Speith and Russell Henley had great wins in their rookie year. However, following up a successful first year can be tough.

Don't Forget the Injured Golfer

There is a serious punting opportunity where a previously successful golfer is affected by injury. Naturally form dips but remember the old saying ‘form is temporary and class is permanent’. These types of players are often available at big prices and once fully recovered are well capable of returning to former glories.

We tipped Paul Casey in 2013 as a player on the comeback and he duly won the Irish Open. We still feel there is a lot to come from Alvaro Quiros. Keep an eye on him for the early season Middle-East tournaments.