If you want to talk about global games, Golf may be one of the most universally enjoyed games worldwide. The current PGA tour has representatives from nearly every continent globally, with players from Europe and Asia peppered through the world’s top 25 golfers. Indeed, almost any country you go to in the world will have a golf course where people can partake in the sport, so it should not come as any surprise that Golf has infiltrated the online sports betting market as well!

Golf as we know it today was created in Scotland in the 15th century, but how it got there as a game is anybody’s guess. Historically, variations of the game were played in Ancient Rome, Ming Dynasty China, and the Netherlands. Wherever it was first played, the modern game was first played and developed in Scotland, which is home to St. Andrews golf course, which many believe is the holy grail of golf courses.

Since then, the sport has spread worldwide and is enjoyed by men and women alike and celebrities and athletes of other sports. Golf is often thought of as an escape for people who have a few hours to play and is extremely popular in warmer climates with good weather all year around. Today, the PGA is a multi-billion dollar revenue maker that has flourished in the current environment when other sports have not been able to play during the COVID-19 pandemic. Betting on golf tournaments exploded when the PGA was the only professional sport being played earlier this year.

Interesting Facts About Golf:

1) Golf balls, which are now made of plastic and rubber, used to be made of wood.

2) The Open Championship is the first golf tournament in the world. It started in 1860.

3) Jack Nicklaus had a streak during his career of winning one tournament a year in 17 consecutive years.

4) Sam Snead, a man, won an LPGA event in 1962.

Ready to start betting on PGA Golf tournaments at your preferred online sportsbook? Before jumping in blindly to the overwhelming golf bet board, take some time to learn about Golf’s ins and outs of betting online.

While we cannot provide actual betting advice in this guide, we have accumulated some of our favorite tips to help you get your online golf betting career off to a fun and hopefully profitable start!

Tip#1: Set a limit on your bets and stick to it – This is one of the most significant issues with new sports bettors and is one of the biggest reasons that new players bet through their bankrolls too fast. Set a limit on how much you can afford to lose in a given day, week, or month and stick to that rule as you are starting.

Incorporate systems like proportional betting to help sustain your bankroll and avoid bets with low odds but higher payouts like parlay bets. Stick to single-game bets and, while using proportional betting, wager a specific percentage of your bankroll each time. Nothing turns players off of sports betting faster than burning through their account balance within a few days of starting out.

Tip#2: Learn What the Odds Mean – A full PGA tournament board can be daunting to look at. Do a little bit of research into past tournaments, and you will get more of an understanding of how the odds are made. Remember, the odds are merely a guideline set by the bookmakers to get the most amount of action on both sides of the game, not necessarily indicate how good each team is compared to each other.

Tip#3: Learn the Golf game –Take the time to learn the rules of Golf and how tournaments generally play out. If you are betting on the PGA, study the golfers and any trends or statistics that may help give you an edge in a given matchup or tournament.

Tip#4: Get to know which bets you are good at – This seems straightforward, but learning which types of bets you are more successful at, can go a long way for your golf betting career. If you are good at betting outright winners, then bet on outright winners. If you are bad with matchups, then don’t bet on matchups!

Again, watching the tournaments can give you a massive advantage in understanding how sportsbooks make odds and lines. Of course, not everyone has time to watch four days’ worth of Golf, but even if you follow along on your mobile phone or online, it can help you understand how individual golfers perform on a given course.

A majority of online sportsbooks will accept the usual forms of digital payments. Credit cards, direct bank transfers, and PayPal are almost universally accepted now across any e-Commerce platform you use, and we’ll go into a bit more detail about them below.

Other new options have been gaining popularity such as eWallets and Cryptocurrencies, but they are far from being the standard and are less common than the big three options below:

Credit Cards: The most common way that players can deposit right into their online sportsbook accounts. Most of the significant companies are accepted including Visa, Mastercard, and Discover. Remember that some credit card companies do not allow the cardholder to make purchases on sports betting or gambling sites, so be aware of any restrictions before trying to use that card.

Direct Bank Transfer: A bank transfer is a direct debit from your bank account and is just as fast as paying by credit card and generally has a higher success rate for transactions than credit cards as well. You may need to enter your bank account details, so have that information ready before trying to deposit.

PayPal: PayPal is the premier site for transferring money online, but you need to sign up for an account and link it to a bank account before using it at any online sportsbook. It is safe, trustworthy, and easy to use and has become increasingly used at online websites as payment. PayPal is great if you need to use different currencies as well.

If you are still beginning your journey into online Golf and have some questions for the sportsbooks as you are starting out, you are not alone!

Nearly every online sportsbook provides its customers with 24-hour around the clock customer service. Because online sportsbooks and online casinos are open 24 hours a day and seven days per week, there is always some form of customer service available via email, telephone, or an instant chat function.

These customer service representatives can assist you with anything from deposit or withdrawal issues to questions about specific golf-related bets.

The game rules of Golf are quite simple and straightforward to understand. The basic premise is for golfers to hit the ball with their clubs from the tee-off to the hole in as few strokes as possible. Simple right? The nuances in Golf are situational. These might include:

• Equipment: which club to use on a given surface.
• Territory: How to avoid sand traps or ponds?
• Weather: Accounting for wind, fast putting greens, and weather. Since Golf is played outside, the elements definitely need to play a factor in handicapping a golf game.

Golf courses are generally 18 holes per round and one round usually takes 3-4 hours to complete. Golf’s wonderful thing is that every course is different, and every hole can be altered based on where on the green it is placed. Things like weather, moisture, precipitation, and wind can vastly affect a golfer’s performance. Other than that, the player who finished the course with the least amount of strokes is the tournament or course winner.

The basics of Golf as a sport are simple and straightforward but betting on Golf is a whole different story altogether. From outright tournament winners to daily leaders to head to head matchups, there are so many different betting styles for golf tournaments that a golf betting board can be a little bit overwhelming when you first see it. Let’s go over a few of the more basic types of bets and then a few more that are a little bit more fun and unique:

OUTRIGHT WINNER
Exactly what it sounds like: who do you think will win the tournament outright? You can often get excellent odds on the lesser-known names, so knowing as many golfers and their tendencies as you can is a great way to build an edge and recognize those golfers with high paying odds. Taking outright winners is an excellent way to hedge your bets as well, as you can place multiple hedges throughout the four-day tournaments to lock in a profit on the final day.

GOLFER HEAD-TO-HEAD MATCHUPS
Again, very straightforward, but these are based on individual golfers’ performance in a given round. Sportsbooks will often pair two well-known golfers together and set odds on who will have the better score either at the end of the round or at the end of the entire tournament. This is another situation where knowing golfers and how they perform in specific conditions can give you an edge on who to place your bets on.

3-BALL BETS
Similar to head-to-head, except this bet takes into account three different golfers, hence the name 3-ball. The sportsbook will provide three other golfers, and you place a bet on which one you think will have the best score at the end of the round or tournament.

ROUND LEADER
This is a bet on who will be leading each round at the end of the day. Plain and simple!

TOP NATIONALITY
This is a bet that shows how international the PGA field is. Some sportsbooks will offer betting categories like Top American, Top European, Top Asian. These correspond to the highest-scoring golfer from each nationality in the tournament.

Which Odds Do You Prefer?

There are a few different types of betting odds that players can use, and it is entirely up to personal preference and has no effect on the bets or the outcome of the bets.

• Decimal odds: These are easy to understand and make complete mathematical sense as they are directly proportionate to the amount you wager. If you bet $100 at 1.50 odds, you will win $150.
• American odds: These are slightly less clear to read, but once you learn how the numbers work, it makes sense. You will notice American odds use (-) or (+) symbols before their numbers with the (-) indicating a favorite and the (+) the underdog in the matchup.
• Fractional odds: Again, similar to decimal odds mathematically but using fractions instead of decimals.

These Odd types can all be used depending on the bettor’s preference. Keep in mind that they are not interchangeable as 2.00 in Decimal odds does not equal +200 in American odds and vice versa.

The top golf league in the world is the PGA for men and the LPGA for women. Any other localized Leagues or circuits are there to feed golfers up to the PGA eventually. There are specific PGA tours for some world regions, like the PGA European Tour or the PGA Asian tour. There is also the PGA senior tour where the minimum age is generally 50 years old to enter tournaments.

There are also pro-am tours where professionals and amateurs play in the same tournaments. A lot of these are not as competitive and are usually for charity reasons. These still fall under the PGA umbrella, though, as the PGA remains the governing body and the golf world’s focal point.

Pick the Sport you want to bet on, learn the dynamics of the games, and tap into the best betting strategies developed over the years. Can you build that elusive hot streak? There’s only one way to find out. Always remember, Bet Responsibly, Bet Greatly:

Wondering how the different U.S. States approach sports betting? the KGB team has provided in-depth guides on how various State or County laws stack up on sports betting. Check out the guides below, where we’ll investigate each state and help you in your quest to start Sports Betting: