Golf Betting

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Betting on golf never been easier

Millions of people are not only playing and watching golf but an increasing number of them are also adding to their enjoyment of the sport by engaging in golf betting.

Golf has become one of the most popular sports in the developed world. In the UK, it seems that wherever there is a significant conurbation of people and suitable terrain, you will never be too far away from a golf course. Many people who have never even played the game will watch the professionals on television, study the golf betting odds, and want to pick the winner.

Betting on golf has never been easier. Online bookmakers have been the catalyst and the beneficiaries of increased revenues on golf betting. In the UK, you don't have to wait for the Open or the Ryder Cup to have a bet on golf. Good bookmakers will be offering markets online for golf tournaments worldwide, throughout the year.

There are four major men's golf championships, the Majors, which are the most prestigious of the golfing calendar and the biggest in golf betting terms too. The first of the year is the US Masters which is held in early April at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. This is followed by the notoriously testing US Open in June and the British Open in July. The British Open is the only major held outside the US and is the oldest of the four tournaments. It is held at one of nine famous links courses situated in Scotland or England and, while it used to have the smallest prize fund of the four majors, it can be relied upon to attract the highest golf betting volumes in the UK. The PGA Championship completes the Major quartet taking place in mid August at a variety of venues in the US.

Golf odds offer plenty of opportunities to profit. You don't have to wait for the Majors or pick the outright winner to make money. In the 2010 Valero Texas Open you could bet on the top European golf player. For instance, Sergio Garcia and Fredrik Jacobson were the favourites in the betting at 9/4 with Thomas Kearney being offered at the longest price of 40/1. You could also place your golf bet on the top Australasian. The prices on offer varied from 7/2 (Adam Scott) to 60/1 (Grant Waite). Markets were also offered on who would be the top player from other regions and, if not covered elsewhere, the top player from the 'rest of the world'.

Golf bets are usually available on who will lead after the first of the round if you prefer to place your bet on the early stages. For the Texas Open, for example, prices ranged from 16/1 (Ernie Els) to 350/1 on a number of outsiders. You can also bet on whether key players will make or miss the cut, but don’t expect to be offered such generous odds.

If you like something a little different to a straightforward golf bet, handicap betting is also available. A number of the top players are offered at exactly the same odds, subject to a handicap, set by the bookmaker. There is also 72 hole group golf betting and match betting as well as odds on offer for the winning margin.

If you want to increase your chances of making a profit on golf betting you can bet on your favourite player or a number of players to finish in the top five or the top ten. It is a really good way to make sure your bet gives you plenty of excitement that should last until the very end of the tournament.

It only comes around every two years but the volumes and gambling options available for Ryder Cup betting are huge.

Why not bet on ladies golf too? It is not just mens golf that generates golf betting markets. A number of markets are offered for the Bell Micro Classic LPGA (Ladies Professional Golfing Association) although not as many as the mens opens. As with other sports, the range of golf betting markets on offer usually reflects the volume of interest in the competition and the extent of the television coverage. While the ladies' game is gathering momentum, there is still a long way to go before the names of the top lady golfers are household names like the stars of the men’s game. Though who can forget Laura Davies.

While the UK currently lacks a golfing star of the calibre of Nick Faldo, there are very few people in the UK who have not heard of California's Tiger Woods, even if they have little interest in golf. A child prodigy who appeared on the cover of a golfing magazine aged just five, Woods' phenomenal talent and consequent worldwide fame demonstrates the high level of interest in golf and its champions across the globe. His fall from grace following revelations regarding his extra marital activities became the fascination of the media. Since his return to the game, his prominence has led to golf betting markets being built around him. There is now golf betting ‘without Tiger Woods’ in the same way as racecourse bookmakers may offer odds in a horse race without including the favourite.

How golf got started

There are an abundance of theories on the origins of golf. Some experts claim that its roots are from Paganica, the game played by the Romans which involved hitting a stuffed leather ball with a bent stick. They explain its introduction throughout Europe with the Romans conquering the majority of the continent in the first century BC. Others claim it has its foundations in chuiwan, a game played by the Chinese from the eighth to the fourteenth century. Chui means hitting and wan, small ball. A game called cambuca in England and known as chambot in France has also been mooted. The most commonly accepted theory however, suggests that the game started in eleventh to thirteenth century, in Scotland. Some historians claim that it was the tediousness of tending sheep that led to shepherds diverting themselves by hitting rocks into rabbit holes with sticks on what is now the location of the Old Course at St Andrews.

Whichever golf theory you want your betting funds on, hitting balls and other objects with sticks seems to have been a common occurrence in many places at various times across the world. It is the hole as target that is specific to golf so we may well have shepherds and rabbits in Scotland to thank for the development of the game. Perhaps the shepherds had their own form of golf betting too.

The popularity of golf in Scotland led James II to ban it in 1457. He believed that the national preoccupation with the sport was distracting his subjects from focusing on the imminent threat of an invasion by the English, too much time was being spent honing golfing rather than combat skills. Only after the crisis had passed were his restrictions lifted.

Today, it is the Royal and Ancient Rules of Golf as drawn up by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, St Andrews, in Scotland that govern both amateur and professional players of the game. The appeal of golf certainly looks set to stay with us for many years to come and that's a sure fire favourite in the golf betting odds.