Spread Betting on Golf

Spread betting on golf offers an interesting departure to financial betting. Bets can be placed on markets on all US and European gold tournaments in addition to most Asian events. Leader board and finishing position markets enable you to bet on where players end up in the field. If you believe Tiger Woods will have a bad week, you can bet against him.

How You Can Bet

You could bet on certain players, for instance the number of shots a certain player beats or loses to another specified player. There could be a 72-hole match bet on Lee Westwood versus Rory McIlroy, and if you believe experience will triumph over youth, you could buy Westwood at two. For every shot where Westwood beat McIlroy over 72 holes, Westwood scores one point. If he shoots eight under while McIlroy shoots six over, the result is 14 points and you win 12 times your stake. You could bet on the number of birdies or bogies at certain holes.

Some spread betting tips of the moment are for Martin Kaymer to win the Malaysian Open, Lee Westwood to win the US Masters and Tiger Woods to win the 2012 Masters, to nobody’s great surprise.

Bigger Bets on Bigger Tournaments

There will be an extended selection of special markets for major tournaments, which provide great entertainment value. Sporting Index, the largest company that accepts spread bets on sport, has 24 markets. Extrabet, which is now defunct, offered 21.

The five principal spread markets are ten-man indices, finishing positions, 18-hole one day matches, 72-hole matches, and hotshots. Of these, 18-holers have the most volatility, as there are 10 points for a win and three more points for every stroke by which victory occurs. An example would be Shaun Michael versus Nick Faldo in the 2004 US Open’s first round. The result was 71 for Michael and 81 for Faldo, which would be great if you bet on Michael, but highly unpleasant if you went with Faldo.

The Best Bets

The least volatile wager is a 72-holer, where the absence of hidden extras allows you to have a higher stake. Finishing positions are the purest form of spread betting, and you will win money selling the finishing position of a player who had an excellent week.

Hotshots are where four named players must earn a place in the top 10, and are almost never worth bothering with. Hotshots are also employed by Sporting, IG Index and Spreadex, and they generally insert a player with a large question mark beside his name, or another player you do not really want. You should only bet on a hotshot if you believe in all four of the players.

Ideal Strategies

When spread betting on golf, you should look for consistent players instead of stars. A run of high finishes always ends, but if a golfer is solid you will mostly win. Some players perform well week after week without ever taking home a trophy, such as David Howell, Jay Haas and Scott Verplank. These would lead to no gains in fixed-odds betting, but could reap a rich reward in spread betting. If you place such spread bets, you will not only quite possibly make a profit, but you will be riveted right to the last hole.