Golf is one of the widest participating sports throughout the world. Played at professional levels in
all 5 continents, golf is game that truly reaches to every corner of the earth.
As a benefactor of its popularity, the online betting industry has added golf as yet another one of
their live betting markets. The growth of the game over the years sees literally millions of people
take part at all levels. Whilst it’s unlikely any major bookies will be running a live betting market on
your local golf competition, the professional scene offers a fantastic base for bettors to find some
real value in a golf betting market.
There is seldom a week goes by without a golf competition taking place in some country around
the world. The two big tours consist of the PGA Tour and the European Tour often pulling up prize
money for the event well in excess of 7 figure sums. Both tours have a fantastic blend of players
from around the world all competing for world ranking points on a weekly basis. One of the major
pluses when betting on golf is that it runs all year round. Golf is often referred as the sunshine sport
with the schedules basically being set in an attempt to follow the good weather in whatever country
they choose to play.
The pinnacle of the live inplay betting markets come in the form of one of the four major
championships consisting of the US Open, The Open (or British Open), Masters and the USPGA
Championship. The majors are set up at some of the most demanding courses in the world and are
said to be the ultimate test in golf.
It’s pretty obvious that the betting markets are at their busiest when it comes to major competition
time. In the lead up and during the major competitions is when you see the most diverse range of
bettors come out of the woodwork. Professional gamblers are looking at markets where they can
squeeze even the tightest edge against the bookmaker site, whilst the recreational bettor is just
looking for a cheeky flutter on their favourite player. They both have the same ultimate goal, and
that is to make money!
Internet golf betting markets work like very few in the sporting industry. The vast field size and
all-round toughness of the sport make it a very tough task to pick a winner. Often looking through
outright winner markets, favourites will be priced around 10/1 – 15/1 for any given competition.
These odds are extremely long for a favourite compared to any other sport, meaning that you can
find some real value even at the start of an event. It’s not uncommon for 100/1 + shots to win
tournaments in golf.
The long odds mean that shopping about for the best price becomes one of the most important
features when it comes to betting on golf. Many bookmaker sites will fluctuate greatly, probably
more than most other sports, for each player and the margins can be quite staggering. Spending a
little time researching players and bets prior to the event can really pay dividends when it comes to
making money and essentially, your bottom line.
Best Golf Live Betting Sites
#
Betting Site Name
Bonus
Bonus Code
Visit Site
1.
bet365
100% up to €100
Not Needed
2.
Bovada
10% no max
1980701
More Information about Golf
What is live inplay golf betting?
Live golf betting is term used which means to bet whilst the event is taking place. A standard market
will offer you odds prior to the tournament starting and from then you will have to wait until after
the competition is finished (or the bet is settled).
Live inplay betting means you can bet on markets as the competition gets played on with odds that
will be adjusted depending on circumstances throughout that respected competition. From here you
can use any knowledge you have on the sport to good effect to try and anticipate what scenarios
could unfold as you watch. Once you have an idea of what you are looking, you can check back to
see how the market is reacting and whether you can find value from the current live odds that are
displayed.
Where can I find live golf betting?
As we see the popularity of golf rise, you can be sure that most if not all major online internet
bookies will be running a live market of some sort for most of the weekly professional competitions.
Some will cover more markets than others, so spend a little time looking about to see who is offering
what.
Betting exchanges such as Betfair are also very popular for live golf betting markets. In fact, Betfair
often run many special offers that co-inside with tournaments around the world meaning you can
pick up free money if you’re a new user. Betfair are synonymous with offering some of, if not the,
best odds for sports on the market. This statement bares even more true with golf as odds are often
much longer than your traditional bookmaker site. A good tip when betting on longer odds players is
to use Betfair as they can sometimes be as much double the price compared to most bookmakers.
Why is live golf betting good to use?
If you have a passion for the sport and are a keen sports bettor then live betting really is the way
to go. It gives you opportunity for you to assess how some is playing in a competition and act
accordingly. You may pick up on things other bettors don’t, or even more importantly, things
bookies don’t pick up on. This allows you to exploit these markets and make some solid earnings
from golf betting.
Live betting does require a fair amount of discipline though. You need to make sure you can access
both your account and information on what the tournament is panning out whilst betting on live golf
markets. If you don’t have this then its highly likely that by the time you get to place a bet, the value
will have passed, the once overreacted odds will have levelled and ultimately you will have lost a fair
chunk of value.
Which markets are available?
Live betting throws up some fantastic markets to bet on from the bog standard, pick a winner. Let’s
take a look at a few now.
--> Outright Winner – OK, so I said this market was bog standard, however there is still some
value to be had from this. We’ve mentioned earlier about the odds being much longer for
golf with the field size and toughness of the game, so there are some real long shots in
this market. Well, long odds that is anyway. Often players who are just a little out of form
can be as long as 100,200 even 500/1 in some cases, and these could be guys with major
championships under their belts. Take a thorough look through this market. As the week
progresses the market will settle down, but at the start and through the opening round,
some great value can be had.
--> Mythical two balls – This is one of the most favoured live betting markets in golf. It’s
sometimes referred to as head to head betting, as the concept is basically picking two
players out of the competition and plotting their scores against one and other to see who
comes out on top. Their overall tournament finishing position is pretty much irrelevant
as this market is just a straight out dual. Sometime during the coverage on the television,
scores can be delayed a little to show you the pictures, so if you have as many score sources
open as possible and hear the score of a player through early, you may be able to jump
on before the bookmaker ahs time to react. As a follow up to this market, they have the
mythical two balls (draw no bet), which basically means that if they finish with the same
score (I.E a draw) then you get your original stake back.
--> 3 balls – Similarly to that of the two ball market, the live lay market offers a 3 ball market
where you look to be the winner, except this time its between the 3 players and how they
are drawn in the competition. So the 3 ball playing will all compete against each other in a
sort of mini league.
--> Big Guns v The Field – This market allows you back the field against the top four or five
players in that competition. If you decide to back the Big Guns and a coupe get off to fast
start on day one, then the odds will drop dramatically meaning you can use a betting
exchange to lay off that price and book a win no matter what the result.
--> 6 packs – the 6 packs market choose 6 players from the field and offers odds on which one
of those will shoot the lowest in each respected round. At the end of day one, that market
will close and then a new one open with 6 fresh faces for day two, day three and finally day
four.
Live golf betting tips
Golf betting can be somewhat of a lottery when it comes to picking the winner. The field size make
it hard t narrow down the field, however this means the odds on the internet are much longer as a
result, so if you are smart you can still make a tidy profit. Let’s take a look at some of the top golf
betting tips to bear in mind.
--> Look at each way bets – Due to the size of the odds in golf when looking at the outright
winner market, each way bets often offer much better value at ¼ of the starting price for a top 5 or 6 place finish (make sure you check T&C’s with your bookmaker prior to
placing a bet). As the market goes live and the player’s rounds start to come in, look to take
advantage of betting exchanges to lay off your pick to guarantee a profit on any result.
--> Player form – Look through each players form and try to come up with a shortlist of 5 or 6
who you fancy from the field (if you can get a mix of longer odds players in there then this
will work out best. I like to make three pool, favourites, good chance, long shot, then pick
from those pools of players). Once you have done this you need to look a little deeper as
to how they may have played previously on the course or if they have just been unlucky
previously, but are playing well.
--> Observation – As the tournament pans out, you can get a feel of who is playing well and who
has simply had no luck. A leader board can only tell you so much. For example a player could
3 shots off the lead and nowhere, but what his score doesn’t reflect that those 3 shots were
due to a slice of bad luck where his ball rolled into the water or out of bounds. If you know
that apart from this one slip up that this player is playing well, then the odds may not reflect
how well he is actually playing and merely go by what the leader board says.
--> Diversification – Keep looking about each live play market in an attempt to find any hidden
value that could be kicking about. The harder you work and look then the more chance you
may have to find something that others haven’t picked up on.
--> Improve your knowledge of golf in general – You are not an expert at golf! If you were, you’d
be sat on a sofa somewhere in the world commentating on the professionals. Keep working
hard at improving what to look for in a player. Just watch the golf on TV and enjoy it without
betting, see if you can pick the winner or pick players of whom you could have made a profit
from.
