Betting on Golf Games
There are few games that are more satisfying to a player than a good few rounds of golf. The sport of golf has grown to become more and more mainstream, with the assistance of sports legends like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods. While golf lacks the adrenaline soaked excitement of more robust sports such as basketball, baseball, or football, it is important to never underestimate the golfing fan base. And it’s no different when it comes to betting.
Betting in golf is twofold (and one of the only instances where we’ll talk about friendly wagers between players).
The first type of betting on golf is the legal “sports book” one. It’s similar to betting on NASCAR, really – you are betting on a player to win a tournament, finish in the top 10, top 20, make the cut, etc. You can also bet “the field” (the “not so good players” not listed on the board). Bets are standard moneyline bets (Woods -$200, Garcia +$140, etc.).
But the “official” betting in a casino’s sports book pales in comparison to the bets non-professional players make amongst themselves on the golf course. Since golf is considered a gentlemen’s game, the friendly wagering on the links is almost encouraged (nudge nudge, wink wink). Of these, there are several popular bets that gamblers like to enjoy. One of the most common bets is known as the “Nassau”. This bet covers the following subjects: Predicting the low score that occurs on the front nine, as well as the back nine, as well as the lowest score throughout all 18 holes.
There are also other types of bets, such as the Round Robin, the Sandies, Bingo Bango Bongo, Barkies, Wolf, Arnies (which is appropriately named after golf legend Arnold Palmer), Aces and Deuces, Gruesomes, and Criers and Whiners. Each of these types of bets focus on a certain aspect of the game, everything from the players who win or lose or score the highest, making pars, individual tee offs, people who request a mulligan (or “do over”), etc etc. So there are a lot of choices that bettors can choose in order to make a few dollars during the game.
While golf is a fairly relaxing game, it still remains a very competitive one, both on the green, and with the bookkeeper. Because let us tell you, there is nothing like facing a four foot putt when you have a round of drinks with your buddies on the line!
