Best Golf Gambling Stories
Phil Mickelson is known to be pretty open with his money: He's an extremely generous tipper, and he's notorious for never shying away from a good money match. It's all part of Phil's charm.In the. The Nassau is three bets in one: low score on the front nine, low score on the back nine. A while back, VegasMaster held a contest asking our global readers to provide us with their best gambling stories. In response, we received some of the most bizarre, funny and craziest gambling stories, ever! We selected the best ones for you to enjoy. You won’t believe some of the real-life experiences our readers from all over the world. The Best Golf Gambling Stories. Words: GolfPunk We all long to hear success stories of people in various fields. There are top professional golfers who have soared so high and The Golf Punk team sought to learn how they made it to the levels they are at today, and below are the betting stories of the best golf.
Most of us are not great at golf. I wouldn’t necessarily classify myself as good. Therefore, I am not able to go out and compete on a high level. However, I enjoy friendly competition and rivalry, so we tend to seek ways to make the game of golf more interesting…enter gambling.
The handicap indexes of those in the office that play golf are wide ranging. Ryan is a 3.1, Scott is a 9.5, I am a 17.7 and Chris is a 20.3. So when we go out to play, the last thing we do before teeing off is to calculate course handicaps and determine how many strokes each of us are getting. We generally select teams and play a two-person best ball for lunch. Another option is to play Wolf with the last place person owing the winner a lunch or each person throwing in $5 with the winner taking the pot. Most of the time, Ryan and I will have an individual side bet for lunch regardless of the other wagers. Although we’re not playing for much, the side games make the day a lot more interesting and seemingly more important. It is a great reason to stay focused throughout the round, even on days where nothing seems to be going right.
Most people are familiar with the “5 dollar nassau” and “Wolf”. However the most common form of golf gambling is the “skins game.” Skins games create a pool of cash from entrants and split the pot amongst those that get a better score than the other entrants on a particular hole. Skins games are so common, in fact, that the USGA had to specifically state that winnings from them will not interfere with a golfer’s amateur status under Rule 3-1. As long as the skins game is optional (not part of a mandatory entry fee), your winnings do not count against amateur status as prize money for a first place finish would.
Gambling on golf isn’t just for the hacks like me though. Stories of PGA TOUR pros and their Tuesday gambling matches are things of lore. Phil Mickelson is the most prominent practice round gambler, but a vast majority of the world’s best players are using side bets to “spice up” their preparation days. Side note – you should Google “Phil Mickelson Tuesday gambling” and read some of the stories…they’re hilarious. One of my favorites is the time he beat Nick Watney in a British Open practice round for $1000 and when Watney pulled the grand out of his pocket after the 18th Hole, Mickelson gave him his money back and said, “this is Britain…I need pounds.” The conversion rate put the loss for Watney closer to $1,700 for the day.
I also find that golf is one of the best sports to make small wagers on off the course (court, field, etc.). In the office, we will find ourselves in a disagreement about where the cut will be, whether Hudson Swafford will make a birdie before Seamus Power, or other nonsensical topics surrounding the game. What better way to make the day interesting than to pass a dollar back and forth 3 or 4 times with silly bets. We do serpentine drafts with eight players each for all of the majors and DraftKings has a great feature for Leagues that allows us to have a weekly contest in the office without paying them the rake.
The point is, gambling and golf have a long history with one another. Probably because most people aren’t great (or even good) at golf, and it is a way for everyone to win something occasionally. The key when gambling is to keep it within reason and make it another fun part of the game we all love responsibly.
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Golf betting can be one of the more profitable ventures of the major sports, with upward of 150 golfers teeing it up each week. The larger fields provide odds considerably longer than what are seen in any other sport. Golf fans also have a variety of options from which to choose — the PGA Tour, European Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and LPGA. Below, we look at the best ways to bet on golf, along with definitions of key terms and an explanation of the odds.
Golf betting: Ways to bet
Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list of today’s sports betting odds and lines.
Outright: Picking a winner from a field of 120-155 golfers isn’t quite as daunting as it seems. The Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings are an effective measure to compare different golfers, as are course history and statistics. Odds can range from +800 (8-to-1) to +30000 (300-to-1), though winners generally come from the +2000 to +10000 range.Placing: Not as profitable as outright wins, but bettors can instead back multiple golfers to finish in the top 5, top 10, or even top 20 in order to ensure at least a moderate profit each week. These bets are best for long shots, as the outright odds for each golfer will decline according to the wider the range of their finishing position.Matchup: Golfers from a similar world ranking or geographical region — or who share a tee time — are put in head-to-head or three-ball matchups, with the winner the golfer who posts the lower round or tournament score. Odds typically range from -150 to +150.Groups: World rankings, notoriety or nationality can place golfers in groups of six to 10 for the lowest four-round tournament score. Odds can range from +100 to more than +2000 depending on the number of golfers included in the group and their world ranking.Round betting: Instead of backing golfers for a full 72 holes, look for 18-hole leaders or placings at the end of the first, second or third rounds. First-round leader odds can be higher than the tournament odds for the favorites while dropping slightly for the long shots.Live betting:
Jump in on outright odds at any point after the first tee shot. Odds will be adjusted based on the current leaderboard and the positioning of the pre-tournament favorites. It’s often best to hope a favorite starts poorly relative to the rest of the field and back them once the odds spike.
Props: Generally the least profitable and predictable of the odds in golf; bettors can bet on whether a hole-in-one will be made, or the winner’s final score, for example.Futures: Continuously scouting the futures odds for the Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, Open Championship or the Ryder Cup can offer great value. Look for changes among the world’s top-ranked values and back them to win a major following a poor stretch of results in regular tournament play.
Golf betting: Key betting terms to know
Favorites: Typically based on world ranking, but others with strong course history or on a hot stretch of recent top finishes can be viewed as a tournament favorite with odds lower than +2000. Be wary of low-ranked golfers with lower odds than they’d normally possess.Long shots: Priced at +5000 or higher, golfers who generally haven’t won much or have poor history on a particular course. Value exists when spotting a top-ranked golfer who has slipped into this range in a particularly strong field.Chalk: Referring to a heavy favorite priced at +1000 or higher. These golfers are never worth a bet as a broad rule, as the return simply isn’t worth the risk. Be cautious of a heavy favorite in an otherwise weak field.Parlay:
Just like grouping bets from multiple different games in other sports, bettors can back outright winners from different pro tours. It’s a good way to get value on the heavy favorites from both the PGA Tour and LPGA in the same week.Golf betting: How do odds work?
As noted above, outright odds in a typical tournament can range from +800 to +30000, depending on how many golfers are in a field and the overall strength of a field. These odds mean a $10 bet can return a profit anywhere from $80 to $3,000.
Several golfers should be backed each week as an outright winner, with a larger portion of your bankroll being devoted to placing, matchup or group bets in order to ensure at least a small return on your weekly investment. There’s nothing worse than having your sneaky long shot finish second or third and not getting anything for it.
Best Pro Golf Gambling Stories
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