Online golf betting isn’t as well-known as other sports betting options but there’s no question it’s popularity has been growing in recent years. And why not? After all, it offers a plethora of options to turn a profit throughout the year and undoubtedly makes the Ryder Cup, Masters and US Open all that much more entertaining. So how should one go about betting on golf online?

How to bet on Golf Online

The first step to betting on golf online is simply toa create an account. Once that’s taken care of, you can go ahead and deposit some funds. Next you’re ready to back your favorite golfers with some eye-catching sportsbook predictions. However, before you do, it’s important to have some understanding of basic golf betting lines.

Most Common Online Golf Betting Odds/Lines

The most common type of golf bets revolve around futures betting or matchup betting. When you bet on futures, you’re betting on a player to win a tournament. Matchup betting on the other hand, is betting on a player to shoot lower than another. Usually this will be one golfer versus another, or it can even feature a trio. A common futures line will have the name of the golfer followed by the odds i.e. Tiger Woods +700. We’ll cover the odds below but first let’s look at a normal golf matchup betting line. The line starts on the left with the name of the golfer, followed by the spread line, a hyphen for the totals (there is no over/under) and lastly the money line. The spread has the number at which the line is set followed by the odds while the money line only has the odds.

Betting Golf Money Line (Matchup Betting)

Moneyline betting is pretty straightforward. Here you are betting on the golfer to shoot a lower score than his counterpart. The most important thing to understand here really is the payout. As you can see, Danny Lee is facing even odds (EV) while Bud Cauley is pegged as the betting favorite.

Even odds is a 50-50 payout. This means that if you bet $100 you can win $100. Simply put, a $100 winning bet on Danny Lee would net you $200 in winnings (the original $100 + the $100 in winnings from the even odds). It’s important to note that even odds can be higher, so it’s really your call as to how much value can be had here.

Cauley on the other hand, is the favorite so the payout isn’t as lucrative. In order to be eligible to win $100 you would need to place a $120 bet on Cauley. In short, a $120 winning bet on Cauley would net you $220 in winnings (the original $120 bet + the $100 in winnings).

Let’s imagine that Cauley is pegged as an underdog here and is facing +120 odds. Since he is the underdog, the payout is a little nicer. For +120 odds, you would only need to bet $100 in order to be eligible for $120. To recap, a $100 winning bet on +120 odds would net you $220 (the original $100 bet + the $120 in winnings).

Betting Golf Spread

Golf betting spread is easy to pick up. Here you’re not betting on a player to win or lose but to cover the spread. In the above line, the spread is set at ½. Because it’s not a whole point, you’re betting on Danny Lee to basically bet Bud Cauley here. Alternatively, you can see that Cauley is facing even odds on the spread. So if you’re confident he can get the job done, you can find better value in taking Cauley on the spread instead of straight up.

Betting Golf Futures

When you bet on golf futures, you’re betting on a player to win a tournament. Generally this offers great payouts. A favorite to win a tournament can be facing +800 odds. This means that a $100 winning bet on this player would net you $900 (the original $100 + the $800 in winnings).