Golf spread betting
Out of all the sports, it is golf that
offers those with in-depth knowledge about form a real
opportunity to beat the spreads.
The form of players outside of the top 20 is rarely
discussed and with such large fields, and an enormous
number of tournaments, those who properly analyse the
performance related factors can expect to beat the spreads.
It should be noted that the golfing form book is notoriously
complex and difficult to understand, and the fluctuations
between results can be enough to scare off even the
most hardened of spread bettors.
In no other sport can there be such a marked difference
in potential placings. A player winning a tournament
one month and missing the cut in his next can mean the
difference between 1st and 40th place.
The main bet offered by the spread companies is that
of winning positions.
Tiger Woods 15-17
Davis Love 16-18
Colin Montgomerie 20-22
Here, if you thought a player was going to do well
(achieve a better position than his spread) you would
sell and vice versa.
Although it may seem a foregone conclusion that a player
like Tiger Woods would finish in the top 15, the statistics
show this is often not the case.
The key to finding good bets is to look for a player
whose recent form has been consistent (though this does
not necessarily mean good). A player whose last three
finishes were 17th, 18th and 19th makes for a better
bet than a player whose last three finishes were 1st,
missed cut and 40th.
Another popular form of golf spread betting is the
super 7 indices. Super 7 indices have become a standard
market on golf. Here, just seven listed players count
on a 50:25:10 index. Since no other players count, the
winner, after being assigned 50 points may, in terms
of tournament standings finish well out of contention.
The unpredictability of golf means that buying any form
of supremacy over any other player is a dangerous tactic.
The seven chosen for the index will invariably be the
favourites who may start between 7/1 and 15/1 in the
outright fixed odds betting. Although these differences
may seem quite large at first, if you convert them into
their percentages, the gap may look less wide.
It is well worth noting that out of all the sports
available on the spread market, this may be the one
that can be most adversely affected by the weather.
Good conditions with little rain will result in a high
make-up; poor visibility and high winds will result
in a low make-up. In this scenario it is the meteorology
boffins who will prosper. Even during the course of
play the difference between players going out in good
weather compared to starters who have had to endure
poor conditions is highly relevant, and a little knowledge
can go a long way.
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