How to bet on golf: Tips to win in 2025, plus U.S. Open picks - ESPN

Betting on golf is a beautiful, maddening, exhilarating puzzle — kind of like standing over a 3-footer to save par with your buddies watching. There are tons of ways to bet on a tournament, but if you're blindly firing outright winners and hoping for the best, you're likely going to find yourself in a financial bunker.

Instead, here's a step-by-step guide on how to structure your betting card like a pro, balancing risk and reward to make sure you're in the hunt come Sunday.

When betting on golf, three key factors often come into play: course fit, current form and course history.

Course fit is all about how a golfer's skill set aligns with the layout — whether it's a bomber's paradise, a precision-heavy track or a putting contest.

Current form looks at recent results, momentum and confidence — because a player striping it tee-to-green last week is more appealing than one searching for his swing.

Course history is the comfort factor — some players see certain courses better, whether it's the type of grass or memories of past success. The sweet spot is when all three align. But in betting, you're looking for the best value, and sometimes weighing one over the others is where you find the edge.

Golf betting is more than just picking a winner. There are plenty of ways to get action — some safer than others — and if you structure your bets correctly, you can still cash even if your outright pick implodes. Here's a quick rundown of the most popular wagers:

Outright winner

This is the classic «Who's holding the trophy on Sunday?» bet. Because golf fields are massive, outright odds are juicy — but that also means they're tough to hit. A 30-1 ticket is fun, but only if you're betting outright winners. You'll have a lot of