Golf Betting for Beginners

Betting on golf is fairly straightforward and Paddy’s here to take you through the basics to get started

Golf betting can be as straightforward or as complicated as you wish. With Paddy Power you can make simple bets like backing a player to win the Masters. Or you can create large combinations and back a string of players to succeed over the course of a single round.

In this guide we’ll show you the very basics of golf betting. We’ll take you through the steps to creating a Paddy Power account, point you in the direction of the latest golf odds, and throw in some tips too.

Learn about the types of golf bets that are available and the best options for newcomers.

7 steps to betting on golf

Golf betting at a sportsbook like Paddy Power starts with creating an account. You must be aged 18 or over to join our sportsbook and will need to input your personal and payment details to set up a profile. Once you have an active account and have made a deposit you can explore the golf odds.

golf betting

Here’s a step-by-step overview of the process:

  1. Join Paddy Power: Begin your golf betting experience by heading to Paddy Power and hitting the ‘Join Now’ button. You can also download the app and do it that way on your phone or tablet. Follow the directions and enter your information. Remember never to share your password or account details with anyone.
  2. Verify Your Account: To ensure you have a legitimate profile and to comply with the law, Paddy Power may need to verify your account. Verification processes are usually done automatically but can take longer if we require ID from players.
  3. Trigger a Promotion: You can select a sign-up offer when joining Paddy Power. Make sure you follow the T&Cs attached to the deal in order to trigger it correctly.
  4. Make a Deposit: Now armed with an active account, it’s time to make a deposit. Choose which payment method suits you and conduct the transaction like any other online purchase. Be sure to deposit the qualifying amount required to trigger your promo.
  5. Check out the Golf Odds: Once you have a funded account you can head to Paddy’s golf betting pages and find a market that’s right for you. All our golf odds are housed in the golf tab, from which you can explore various types of bets.
  6. Choose Your Bet: Find a market, player or tournament to bet on and click on the odds to add the wager to your bet slip. You can place a single bet or keep adding to craft a larger multiple bet.
  7. Place Your Bet: Once you’re happy with your selections, enter your stake in the bet slip. Double check that you’re comfortable with the risk and potential reward, and then hit Place Bet to complete the process. Remember, never bet more than you are comfortable with risking.

Read more about opening an account at Paddy Power here

Golf betting promotions

We always recommend checking out the latest Paddy Power promotions when preparing to bet on golf. Here are some to look out for:

Welcome Offer

Paddy’s currently welcome offer gives players £20 in free bets when you wager £5 on sports. Use the promo code YSKARZ  when signing up. Your qualifying bet must be a minimum of £5 following a minimum deposit of £5 using a debit card or Apple Pay. Minimum odds of EVS (2.0) apply.

Extra Places

Paddy regularly pays extra places on golf bets throughout the year. A place in golf is any finishing position other than first that pays out on an each way bet. For example, you can wager on a player to win a tournament and go ‘each way’, so you still earn a payout if they finish third. A common Extra Places deal sees the number of paying places rise from five to eight!

Acca Free Bet

You can create golf accumulators and access a failsafe if one leg loses. Our Acca Free Bet deal acts as an insurance, with your stake refunded as a free bet, should one selection fail. You acca needs to be 5+ in size and at minimum odds of 3/1.

Golf bet meanings

If you’re new to golf betting then it makes sense that you won’t know all the types of bets available in the Paddy Power sportsbook. Well, we’re here to help you get up to speed. Below are the main terms you should be aware of:

Odds – Odds are the “price” of a bet and show the likelihood of a bet winning. Odds are designed to reveal how much you will win relative to how much you bet. Read our How Do Odds Work guide here!.

Market – You might hear punters talking about the types of betting markets in golf. These are the bet options available to you, such as betting someone to win a major, or backing a player to make the cut. Below are the core golf betting markets at Paddy Power: 

Outright winner – This is a simple bet on who you think will win a tournament. You can bet on this market before the tournament begins or in the live betting markets.

Each way – Bet on a player to win a tournament ‘each way’. This option splits your stake in two, with half your bet backing the player to win outright, and the other half backing them to ‘place’ second, third, fourth or fifth. If the player wins, you win both halves of your bet. If they come third, you win the ‘place’ half of your bet.

Overnight leader – Most golf tournaments take place over four days, meaning there are three overnight leaders. You can bet on who will top the leaderboard after a day’s play, even if they don’t go on to win the whole thing.

2/3 Ball Coupons – Players usually go round a course in pairs or groups of three. You can therefore bet on which player will record the lowest score from their two- or three-ball group.

Hole in one – Of course, you can bet on a hole in one during major events like the Open or the Masters. They’re not common but the odds are high because of it!

Golf Accas – An ‘acca’ is short for accumulator, and is a bet structure where you bring multiple picks under one bet and bank on them all winning. The idea is you can win much bigger profits. Of course, you can’t bet on more than one player to win a golf tournament but you can wager on four players to all finish in the top 10. That is a standard golf acca.

Cash out – It’s possible to cash out your golf bets midway through a tournament if you think it’s the right decision to make.

How to find a golf bet

All golf bets are located in the Paddy Power sportsbook under the ‘Golf’ tab. Simply click on the tab to see the latest odds on upcoming tournaments. You can then either scroll down to find more bets, or click on one of the tabs running across the screen to find different bet options.

paddy power golf betting tab

At Paddy Power, whenever you want to place a bet all you have to do is tap the odds. This will add that selection to the bet slip.

Are there golf special bets?

Yes! There are a lot of golf special bets to trigger over the course of a season. Here are the main ones to look out for:

Power Prices – Get an odds boost on selected players and outcomes via Paddy’s Power Prices feature. All you have to do is look out for the Power Prices logo

#WhatOddsPaddy – Message Paddy and ask for odds on random outcomes

Player Trophies – Bet on players to win specific trophies over the season, such as the Masters and Scottish Open. You can also back them to win one, two, three or even four majors.

Check out these golf betting tips today!

Golf accumulators explained

Most new golf bettors will stick to simple wagers, such as ‘tournament winner’. This is a great first step but you may soon be looking to expand into a wider golf betting system.

Accumulators quickly become the way forward for beginners and intermediate punters. They offer the chance to follow multiple players around a course and carry large potential profits off a small stake.

The most common is to back a group of players all to finish in the top five, 10 or 20. You could also combine your picks of the top Irish, English, American and Australian players in a tournament to pull those together into an acca.

There’s really no limit to the combinations you can create, so long as one selection doesn’t prevent another from winning.

All you need to do when calculating a golf accumulator is multiply your odds together to get your new price. For example, you want to bet on four players to finish in the top 10 at the Masters:

masters golf acca example

  • Jordan Spieth – 3.75
  • Hideki Matsuyama – 3.75
  • Collin Morikawa – 4.33
  • Corey Conners – 4.50

3.75 x 3.75 x 4.33 x 4.50 = 274.00.

So, a £1 accumulator bet on these four players to place in the top 10 would earn you £273 profit.

THE PADDY POWER GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE GAMBLING – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW