The complete online golf betting guide

Find out how to bet on golf online with our in-depth betting guide on Golf. Check out how to place your PGA tour bets, as well as the Masters, Ryder Cup and plenty more. 

More on How to bet on Golf

PGA Championship: The Preview

For the major that for so long felt like an afterthought, last in a line of four and somehow less prestigious than the other three, the PGA Championship sure does feel shrouded in mystery and intrigue this year.

There will be a new man lifting the Wanakamer trophy, as Phil Mickelson is not taking part in this year’s tournament. Jon Rahm enters as joint favorite, with the Spaniard’s lone major victory coming in last year’s U.S. Open, but he’s previously had two top-eight finishes at the PGA Championship – tied for fourth in 2018 and tied for eighth in 2021. 

Bettors can’t ignore Scottie Scheffler who is having the time of his life out on the course at the moment. The Masters champion has stated that Southern Hills is his favorite course, and many think he is the man to beat.

Common Golf Bets

Outright Winner

The most common way to bet on golf is to pick which player will win the tournament. The easiest comparison to this is the moneyline bet, where you need your player to win outright in order for the bet to payout. An example of this market would look something like this:

For example, let’s say you bet $100 on Jon Rahm to win The Masters outright at +900. This would return a profit of $900, with an overall payout of $1000 (profit + stake). 

Due to the huge pool of players competing in golf tournaments, predicting an outright winner is very hard, hence the odds are a lot longer than other sports. 

To Finish in the Top-10

The best golf betting sites will offer markets on players to finish in the higher players. Sometimes known as each-way betting, this allows you to bet on a player to finish within a certain number of players, such as Top 3 or Top 8. Some golf betting sites will offer more places, meaning your player will have a bit more freedom to finish in the higher places. 

Of course, for many of the favorites, their odds of finishing in the top-10 are shorter than their outright winner odds, but it allows you to relax a little if your player drops a few strokes. 

An example of an each-way market would look something like this:

These bets are a great way to find some value in an outsider, who you may not think will have a chance of winning. If a golfer has a strong opening two rounds, but fades in the closing stages, they may still place inside the top-10, meaning you would receive a payout.

To Make the Cut

Wagering on players to make the cut is a way of earning a payout before the tournament has concluded. ‘The Cut’, is set halfway through the tournament and is set at a specific score. 

Let’s say the cut is set a +2 over par, every player with +3 or worse, will not proceed to the final two days of the tournament, and have ‘missed the cut’. 

However, if you’ve bet on a player to make the cut, and their score is +2 or better, then your bet is a winner. Often with the favorites their odds of making the cut are very short, but you can cash in on some big odds for the outsiders to have a good opening two rounds. 

Round Leader

Similar to the outright winner market, bettors can wager who will be the leader after the opening round, or even the second round. 

The player you back may not go on to win the tournament and needs only to lead the tournament at the end of the specified round for this bet to pay out. 

Player vs. Player

Rather than bet on one player versus the entire field, you can bet one player versus another in head-to-head golf betting odds, similar to a moneyline.

Golf betting sites will set odds on which player will post the higher finishing position and you can pick which player you think will have the better tournament.

This may also be known as three-way golf betting. These odds simply put the three players playing in the same group together, and odds of the lowest scoring player is the favorite. 

Golfers are often grouped into a variety of categories. Due to the large number of players in golf tournaments, sportsbooks will offer markets on the top player from certain countries.

Golf has often been a sport dominated by the USA, and you will find plenty of American players at all golf tournaments, meaning you can often find odds for the highest placing American golfer. 

Golf Futures

Futures odds to win the major tournaments are often open well before the week of the event, perhaps even months. Golf betting markets for those big tournaments are taking action months before Round 1 begins. 

Live Golf Betting

The best golf betting sites will offer live golf odds as a tournament plays out, constantly adjusting to the results on the course. This includes outright winner odds, odds to win the round, and hole-by-hole odds for select players. 

Odds are constantly chopping and changing for each shot, making golf live betting one of the most volatile types of in-play betting there is. 

Golf Props

There are plenty of golf props you can get stuck into, with the best golf betting sites offering a wide variety of props on the biggest golf tournaments.

We’ll also see plenty of types of props during bigger tournaments like the Masters. Top senior, highest placing amateur or best left-handed golfer. These offer value on occasions where they can eliminate large portions of the group because of course type or form and whittle it down to a couple of players we think can come out ahead of the rest. 

As mentioned, it’s hard to win a tournament, but usually, we can figure out what type of player should succeed at a given course and this is another place to take advantage of that knowledge.

Individual single prop bets are also available to bet on, often resulting in giving the bettor a choice to answer a yes or no question. An example of these could be:

• Will there be a hole in one?
• Any golfer to go bogey-free?
• Will the course record be broken?
• Will there be a playoff? 

Golf Betting Resources

With the nature of betting on golf events being much different then the head-to-head nature of team matchups basically everywhere else, it’s important to determine statistical categories that tend to perform well at specific golf courses. 

The Post gives you a headstart on some of the most in-depth golf statistic sites, to help craft your golf bets. 

Some stats are worth noting depending on the course that is being played. Driving accuracy can be very important for courses with narrow fairways and strong winds, whereas driving distance comes in handy for those courses with wide fairways and short par fours.

Golf Betting Sites

Now you’ve learned about how to bet on golf, it’s best to point you in the direction of the best golf betting sites. The New York Post ranks the top golf betting sites, and gives a detailed breakdown of all the best golf betting sites, and what they can offer you. 

Upcoming Golf Schedule

Coming into the summer months, the golf calendar really starts to heat up. The PGA Championship is up next, as golf heads to Southern Hills.

Check out the best sports betting sites and apps

Golf Betting Tips & Tricks

Form over Class

Whilst always backing the best seems the likely play, it does not always play out as you may think. Just like any sports team, golfers can go through hot and cold streaks, and it happens to the very best of players. 

These streaks can include tournament wins, Top-5, and Top-10 finishes or just playing beyond their usual standard and average finish. You’ll want to look closely at these streaks and what’s driving them. Sometimes it’s an uptick in performance but other times it’s simply competing against weaker tournament fields. 

Cold streaks can also manifest themselves, and many times these skids can be connected to a particular part of a player’s game, like poor putting or driving accuracy. Injuries and recovery time, as well as tinkering with swing mechanics, and techniques, and working in new clubs, can also impact a golfer’s results.

Beating the Course

As strange as it may seem, some golfers are better suited to certain courses than others. Some golf courses have wider fairways and boast a longer average length per hole, making them better suited to golfers who carry a hefty average distance per drive and can quickly find the green. 

On the flip of this, courses with narrow fairways and hazards off the tee box reward player’s with greater driving accuracy.

A surplus of water and sand bunkers, as well as tricky pin placement, emphasizes finding players with an accurate approach and solid scrambling metrics, while unpredictable undulating greens can quickly give those elite putters the edge on the leaderboard. 

Players will often perform better at courses they’re most familiar with, such as at Augusta National for the Masters. 

There are also courses that open up the field massively, due to the difficult nature of the course, meaning the heavy favorites are often not as favored as you may believe. 

Match Play vs. Stroke Play

Most of the tournaments taking place in the world of golf are stroke play, meaning whoever takes the least shots overall wins the tournament. 

One of the greatest golfing events, the Ryder Cup, follows the format of Match Play, whereby scoring the lowest on a hole wins you a point. It’s often the case that certain players perform better under match-play situations, where the golf can be played as part of a team. 

For example, Sergio Garcia is Europe’s most successful Ryder Cup player, winning 28.5 points. In the same regard, Garcia has just one major win to his name, no mean feat, but is certainly more tailored to match play golf. 

Check the Weather Forecast

Weather can completely change how a course plays, from strong winds forcing players to shorten their drives and lean on accuracy to rain soaking the fairways and greens, making the course play slower. Before betting the golf futures, head-to-head markets, or prop odds, always look at the extended forecast for the entire tournament as well the detailed daily forecasts.

From there, you can measure how much the weather can help or hurt a player based on their skill sets or look at which players are used to playing in less-than-ideal conditions based on where they’re from.

Depending on start times, golfers could face varying degrees of weather during the day. A player scheduled to go out in the early morning could face a softer and slower course than a golfer playing later in the afternoon when the sun and heat have dried out the fairways and greens, making them play faster. 

Golf Betting FAQs

Is Golf Betting Legal In America?

Yes. If sports betting is legal and licensed in your state, betting on golf and the PGA Tour is legal.

Why Do All The Golfers In A Tournament Have Long Odds?

Golf tournaments can often host plenty of players, meaning there can be a field of players up to 150. For example, with a 120-players field, each player would have odds of 120 to 1 (assuming there were no favorites).

The best golfers may be heavily favored over the competition and still have odds of 50 to 1 or higher.

Where Can I Bet On Golf In The USA?

Betting on golf in the US is easier now than ever before. States, where you can bet on golf, include Arkansas, Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Delaware, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Rhode Island, Tennessee, West Virginia, DC, and Virginia.

Can You Bet On A Golf Tournament After It Started?

Yes, you can, and this is known as live betting. Virtually all betting operators that offer golf markets feature live betting. Through live betting, players can place wagers on unsettled sports events, including ongoing golf tournaments. However, keep in mind that odds can shift quickly when betting live, especially on golf.

What Are The Best Tournaments For Betting On Golf?

Golf has a number of prestigious tournaments, taking place throughout the year. You can bet on the PGA Majors, which are the four most popular tournaments in the game and are held every year.

Additionally, you can bet on the Masters, an extremely exclusive invitational event held annually in April. Finally, there’s the Ryder Cup, a professional tournament that takes place every two years. It pits American and European teams against each other, in a match-play format.

Can You Win Real Money Betting On Golf?

Yes. In legal sports betting states, you can make real-money wagers on a variety of golf betting markets. If your picks turn out to be winners, you can win real money payouts. However, keep in mind that you should always gamble responsibly, and manage your bank balance.