Betting Guide/Strategy: Golf betting

Owlmans Golf betting guide

"I can't play golf, "Pitch and put is my limit", these familiar cries are often used as justification for not getting involved in golf betting. On a personal level, I've never sat on a horse, but this has not stopped me betting on these four legged money carriers.

I commenced serious golf betting two years ago, and my involvement can largely be attributed to 3 factors:

1. My increased use of the betting exchanges 2. Invariably my Sunday nights were spent watching the golf on SKY therefore having an interest on the outcome added to the viewing pleasure

3. Around this time I started a more disciplined approach to my betting activities to include record keeping of bets placed. To my amazement, my golf bets were showing greater returns than from what I perceived were my strong suits of horses and football.

If I was obtaining a positive return without really trying - by that I mean little research or form study, I reasoned that theoretically "putting in the hours" could only build on an already sound foundation.

I would love to read of of other peoples thoughts and strategies on their betting activities however, here is the Owlmans receipe for golf punting success . . .

Preparation Initial background research - all good cooks have a library of cookbooks, golf punters should familiarise themselves with the vast mountains of knowledge readily available be it in paper form or at a click of a mouse. Too many cooks can spoil the broth, therefore try to avoid not seeing the Woods for the tees ! . In this context there is perhaps too much info out there to take in, find your favoured sources the two PGA tour sites, Racing Post, Keith Elliots annual golf guide, should be enough to satisy everyones thirst for knowledge. (plus this site of course!)

Minimise workload Each event has 156 players, limit any research to players under 100/1. Seldom do big price players win (or if they do the liklihood of finding them is remote). Any big priced players with a chance may in any event be highlighted by the pro-tipsters, and failing that you can still back them later in the tournament.

Local produce Look at players who have a good record in previous years, equally players tend to raise their game in their own country buoyed by nationalistic pride and gallery support. Also take account of climatic conditions for example Asian players will often fare better on the co-sanctioned Euro-Asian tours than their odds would suggest, however will they like a damp windswepped links course?

Fresh Produce Be wary of jaded players- be it playing week in week out, and take account of potential jet lag effects if transferring from the US to Euro tours especially if events over-run to the following day. At best this can hinder scope for practise rounds.

Ingredients Ability - cream generally rises to the top Form - there is plenty of data available to support any aspect of play Suitability- You would think twice about serving white wine with a steak dish, therefore be wary of backing players with errant driving stats on narrow fairways, look for good putting stats when the course lay-out suits etc.

Purchasing the goods If using the bookies, shop around for the best prices, sites like PUNTERSODDS continually update and highlight the latest odds. Odds do vary significantly, and over the year this can only add to the winnings or minimise losses.

Cooking time If the weather forecast was for howling gales and heavy rain in the morning, followed by calm sunny conditions in the afternoon, what would be your favoured tee-off time? This obvious factor can work to your advantage especially if trading - always look for angles and edges that could result in gaining an advantage.

Enjoy Hard work done, sit back and enjoy. Never be afraid to cash in on a winning position, or back additional players later in the tournament to ensure a positive return.