Different Ways to Bet on Golf

#6 Round Leaders in Golf Betting

Another way to bet is to pick who the leader will be at the end of a particular round. Now, this can sound like a pure luck bet at first glance. However, if you check player data, some golfers historically get off to a good start. They may never win but are frequently the fastest horse out of the gate. These players might be worth a bet to lead the first round in specific tournaments.

When I first got started in sports betting, parlay bets sounded complicated. However, a parlay bet is when you wager on multiple outcomes. The critical thing to remember about parlay bets is that you must win all the results selected to cash out.

For example, you could parlay $100 on Cameron Smith to beat Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau to beat Phil Mickelson on a LIV tour event. To get paid, though, it doesn't help if Cameron Smith wins but DeChambeau loses. Smith and DeChambeau would both need to win for you to win your Parlay.

If you like two or more bets equally and would place them individually anyway, why not make it a parlay bet if the odds are better? That sounds good in theory, but remember that if you place two regular bets and lose one, you'll still come close to breaking even - win one, lose one, minus "the juice." But if you lose one bet in a parlay, you've lost it all.

People hear "futures" and immediately think of a complex commodity trade. Forget all that. Think of futures in sports betting as a longer-term bet extending into the future.

These bets can be made at the beginning of the season or even later. The only difference you'll see in the different time frames is the payout odds available.

For example, let's say you like Jon Rahm and think he's a solid bet to win the Masters. You might get better odds at the beginning of the season with the tournament so far away, because the bettor who waits until a week out to place a futures bet on Rahm will get worse odds if he's playing well before the Masters.

However, if Jon Rahm has a terrible season leading up to the Masters, the odds will be more favorable. And if you still want to pick him to win, it would have been better to wait for better odds. Lots can happen in futures.

Golfers' games face high variance, and predicting how they'll play a long time in advance is difficult. But the good thing about futures in golf is that with so many tournaments, you don't have to wait an entire season to cash out. You can place your bet just before the tournament starts; you'll know if you won by Sunday.

Those new to golf betting often think their options are limited to placing bets before a tournament starts. But some sportsbooks will offer the chance to place bets "live" while play is underway.

In this situation, the odds are dynamic and based on real-time action. If you're an intuitive bettor and get good vibes while watching live action, in-game betting could work for you.

If you tap into a player's personal life on social media, you may gain some insight into outside stressors that can negatively impact their play in the short term.

For example, a newborn baby can cause sleepless nights. A divorce or other family issue can cause stressors. Changing caddies or teachers can go either way. Also, remember that winning a big tournament can cause a hangover the following week. The player may want to relax, enjoy their victory, and take some time off, but they're previously committed to playing the next week. In such cases they have to play but their heart may not be in it.

Prop bets are an entertaining collection of bets you can make that aren't usually connected to the tournament's outcome. An example of a prop bet might be something like:

Will there be any aces in the final round of the tournament? Or will there be a playoff for first place? The most crucial distinction when considering prop bets is that some are skill bets while others are straight-up gambling.

Let's take predicting aces, for example. Regardless of how well a player flags his irons, making a hole-in-one still requires a lot of luck.

Let's use this opportunity for a humble brag: I made five holes-in-one and one albatross in my junior golf days. I can tell you two of them were pure luck. One I blocked right, and the ball bounced off an embankment and rolled into the hole. Another was in the fog, and I couldn't see the flag stick. The only reason I knew I made a hole-in-one was that I saw my ball mark on the green and a line in the wet dew on the grass rolling straight to the hole.

The other four were skill shots. But, even though I flagged them, the chance of the ball dropping in the hole from such a distance still requires a lot of luck. So, I contend that a hole-in-one prop bet requires way more luck than betting on how well a player performs in the majors.

Pro golfers have track records regarding winning majors, which means evaluative skill comes into play. But at the end of the day, prop bets are fun and have endless options. More importantly, these bets can bring big profits when you hit one.

Different Types of Golf Bets - Summary

As you can see, there are lots of betting options for golf that you can choose from to fit your style and tolerance for risk. Another advantage of golf betting is that tournaments go year-long. Now, if you think that watching pro golf is too dull compared to watching action sports, remember there's nothing like putting some action on the line to make golf more exciting.

You've probably heard this lecture a million times already, but if you're going to bet on golf, as with any other sport, only bet what you can afford to lose. If you're white-knuckling it or getting sick to your stomach waiting for the conclusion of Sunday's round, you're betting too much money.