bet365 is our pick for the best golf betting site. Irish punters will find a great deal of flexibility and detail.
bet365 is one of the best betting sites generally and it is particularly true for golf.
For each-way golf bets you can 'pick your places' (and the betting site has a similar extra places offer for horse racing) there is also a unique 'live golf tracker' which keeps you connected to the action and aids with in-play betting.
There is also a wide range of golf betting markets that golf enthusiasts can pick from.
bet365 can improve by offering a wide range of payment methods but if you can see past that, which we certainly can, it is your best choice for betting on golf.
bet365 will payout a maximum of €500,000 on all wagers in golf markets.
irishracing.com readers need no introduction to Paddy Power as one of the biggest betting sites in Ireland and it's golf offering should be treated seriously.
A strength of Paddy Power is its 'power price', essentially enhanced odds, on a winner and will also let you pick your places for each-way wagers as well as specials like the number of birdies an individual player will hole.
Paddy Power can improve by offering a specific existing customer offer for golf as bet365 has with the 'live tracker' which would elevate the in-play betting experience.
BOYLE Sports is one of only a handful of the best bookmakers to take golf seriously by offering an existing customer promotion on the sport.
Firstly, Boyles has made a priority of becoming the 'early payout' betting site so BOYLE Sports will payout your winner bets if they are leading at round three although the odds will be reduced. This is only available on select events so check before placing your bets.
Another existing customer golf promotion is the 'Happy Hour' promotion a genuine innovation which offers enhanced odds for PGA events for an hour every Wednesday.
Ladbrokes, with nearly 100 years in the bookmaker industry, is a well established betting site for a good reason. It is a worthy betting site for your roster due to its flexible odds boost offer 'boost that bet' which is available on the majority of sports betting odds. This allows you to boost the odds of any of your selections which will mean you can get most selections at a leading market odds, which is a great option for your outright bets for the major events like the Ryder Cup.
Another positive is the free bet promo for new customers that requires just a €5 deposit.
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Completing our top five golf online betting sites is Betfair which is an almost unique option as it is one of the only bookmakers that have a traditional sportsbook and betting exchange.
The traditional sportsbook has a cutting-edge modern feel while the betting exchange is dated in comparison.
If you can see past that, the betting exchange can be of real value as you are able to find better odds here. For example, a week before the PGA Championships the best price on Rory McIlroy to win is 5/1 on the leading sportsbooks while he is at over 6/1 on the Betfair betting exchange.Pros
If you are looking for free bets for existing customer 10bet are an excellent option. Beyond the generous free bet bonus for new customers, 10bet are among the best betting sites for regular free bets for existing customer offers.
Sign up to 10bet via the link below:
Existing customers can get £10 in free bets for golf with 10bet after they opt-in and wager £75 on the sport.
T&Cs: Valid 01/06 10:00 - 30/06 22:00; Free Bet credited once qualifying bet(s) are settled; Min odds, bet exclusions & T&Cs apply; 18+
If that does not satiate your hunger for free bets or you want to wager less in real money before unlocking free bets, then this offer from 10bet is perfect. You need to wager £50 on the 10bet app to unlock a £10 free bet.
The qualifying bets can be used on any sport so you could place the qualifying wagers in the days or weeks before a major, then you have a £10 free bet to use on the competition.
T&Cs: Opt In required; Bet a total of £50+ via 10bet app; Min odds and bet exclusions apply; T&C apply; 18+
We will cover the majors and big competitions like the Ryder Cup with golf tips which are perfect if you have free bets to use or a qualifying deposit to make. Check back closer to the majors for our tips and the latest odds.
Here are our tips for the Open this week.
Having multiple tournaments to bet on, ranging from the majors to smaller weekly competitions is not enough to make our list of the best golf bookies.
A wide range of markets is naturally important and all of the ones on our list cover the majors and weekly PGA competitions as well as LIV competitions.
However, a depth of markets was also a key consideration when we picked our top five as detailed above.
Outright markets are a given but our top five all have markets for the top player from a specific part of the world like Europe, America or South Africa while some big name competitors lack this.
In-play betting has become a huge part of sports betting more generally in recent years and golf is no different so it is vital that our recommendations accept bets in play.
Golf is not as popular as sports like horse racing and football when it comes to betting and therefore bookmakers may neglect golf bettors and focus on other sports betting options.
Horse racing existing customer promos are aplenty, including BOG, accumulator offers like acca free bets and live streaming.
As an avid bettor my whole adult life, I can confidently bring the best in betting on golf and golf bookmakers to irishracing.com readers on this page.
I began writing about sports betting for a national newspaper over two years ago and recently joined irishracing.com to bring this expertise, along with background in sports journalism to readers.
So, if you are looking for the best sports free bet offers and bonus codes, guidance on how to use your bet credits stake or the latest on who offers the best odds, you will find all you need to know in my portfolio of work.
Outright betting is the most popular market for golf bettors.
Quite simply, you are picking the winner of a tournament, whether that be one of the majors or a routine tour competition.
There is also the option to make your bets each-way selections where you will receive a fraction of the outright price, usually 1/4 or 1/5, if the golfer you have backed finishes in the top four or five, depending on the terms.
Each-way betting is even more popular in horse racing and you can read our full guide to each-way betting.
A bit like the each-way betting options, you can back particular players to finish in the top 30 or 40 of a competition.
Naturally, those among the favourites will be at very short odds to finish in the top 30 but this could be a great option if you fancy an unknown player to enjoy a solid performance but miss out on the top eight, 10 or 12 which are the typical each-way terms during the majors.
Like outright betting, with this option, you are limiting the field and instead backing a player to be the best of where they are from.
This can be as a specific country, although that usually does not include Ireland, or a continent.
In practice, that means you can back Rory McIlroy to be the top European at a competition or Louis Oosthuizen to be the top South African.
As well as backing a specific player to win, you can also bet on the method of their victory.
Options here include to win in a playoff or by a specific number of strokes, typically ranging from one to four.
A bit like player shots or goals in football bet builders, golf player totals means you are betting on specific players to do specific things during a round or competition.
The markets are over/under, so you could back Rory McIlroy to have over 2.5 birdies in the first round of the PGA Championships.
Other player total markets include round score, eagles, pars as well as the opposite end of the scale bogeys.
Like a football match, betting on three balls, means you simply pick the winner of the match.
Like football, there are three options, but here it is not home win, draw or away win. Instead, you pick one of the three golfers to win the 3 ball.
bet365 is our recommended online golf betting site but here you can find our top five golf bookies including Paddy Power, BOYLE Sports, Ladbrokes and Betfair each with their own strengths and weaknesses which we have detailed above.
There are a wide variety of different types of golf wagers you can place. The most popular bets are outright markets, along with each-way bets for winners of competitions. You can go more in-depth with your golf wagers by backing players in two balls, how many birdies or eagles they will hole or even the best performing player from a specific part of the world in a competition.
If a player withdraws before playing any holes then your bets involving them will be voided and therefore your stake will be returned as cash or a free bet, depending on what you placed. However, if the player completes just one hole, then your bet will be regarded as a loss.
As typical each-way terms for PGA World Tour events are five places, those that tie for fifth are paid out at reduced terms. The calculation is the number of paying places remaining divided by number of players tied in those positions. So if, three players are tied for fifth, your each way bet would be paid out at 1/3 of your expected return. But if five players tied for fourth, the fraction would be 2/5 as there are two paying places remaining with five players tied for it.
