Best Golf Betting Sites in Ireland

A Guide to Betting on Golf From Ireland

Golf is one of the most popular sports to bet on in Ireland, but how do you choose the right betting site to use for wagers on golf?

Lots of bookmakers offer special promotions and sign up offers for golf betting in the hope that they can tempt people to sign up for an account.

Choosing the right sportsbook is a challenge, though, which is where we come in to help out.

For everything that anyone could ever need to know about golf betting in Ireland, read on for our ultimate guide to the sport in the country.

The Best Golf Bookmakers in Ireland

Many bookmakers in Ireland claim to be the best, but which rank the highest for golf betting?

Here are the five that we think are ahead of the crowd when it comes to golf betting in Ireland:

• Paddy Power 
• BoyleSports 
• Betfair 
• Bet365 
• BetVictor

Great regular promotions across a wide range of sports help to make Paddy Power one of the best online bookmakers in Ireland. New users can also get a generous sign-up promotion when they join Paddy Power - now one of the world's largest betting brands - to bet on golf.

Another online bookmaker with a strong Irish background is BoyleSports and this site is a great selection for anyone who wants to bet on golf from Ireland. An excellent mobile betting app from the BoyleSports team makes it easy to bet on golf while on the move or out and about.

Live in-play golf betting is a specialism for Betfair, which has both a sportsbook and a betting exchange available for users. Mobile betting apps are very strong at Betfair too, putting the online betting company right up there with the best bookmakers in Ireland for betting on golf.

As the biggest betting company in the world, Bet365 excels in multiple departments and golf betting is definitely one of them. Bet365 is another top betting brand that has placed a strong focus on mobile betting in the last few years and their app is really a joy to use for golf betting.

Rounding off our selections of the best bookmakers for golf betting in Ireland is BetVictor, which usually has some of the best available prices for the major tournaments in the sport. Importantly, the customer support that is offered by the team at BetVictor is also absolutely excellent.

How Golf Betting Works and How to Do It

Newcomers to betting on golf might be a bit unsure of how to get started. After all, unlike most other sports there are dozens and dozens of players in most big tournaments.

Picking a winner for one of these events may therefore feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. But that does not have to be the case. There are lots of markets to try out when it comes to golf betting - we will look at some of them a little bit later in our ultimate guide.

Betting on golf in Ireland works in just the same way as in other sports. Backers just need to make their selection and click on it on their chosen sports betting site in Ireland.

Then, decide how much you want to bet as the stake and enter this number into the relevant box. The sports betting site should automatically calculate the potential profit of the bet for you.

Tap to confirm and the bet will go through, after which it will show up in your account. But how do you go about deciding what to bet on for the top golf tournaments on the sporting calendar?

Form obviously has to be taken into account. Players that have a good record in the last few weeks are likely to have a better chance of coming out on top of the leaderboard on a Sunday.

Some players also tend to perform well on certain courses. This might simply be due to the fact that their skill set is suited to the way that the course is laid out. For example, players who hit big off the tee with their driver - such as Bryson DeChambeau - are much more likely to dominate on a longer course, where less powerful guys might struggle.

Following golf tips can be a good way to make selections, while others prefer to go with their gut.

Special Offers for Golf Betting in Ireland

There is nothing sports fans love more than a good deal. Special offers for golf betting are widely available from bookmakers, but especially around major tournaments such as the Masters.

One of the common special offers when it comes to golf is offering extra places. With so much competition in the industry, bookmakers are fighting for attention from golf betting fans.

It is common for at least 10 places to be available for the most popular golf betting events, giving people more chances to make a profit out of their selections.

Customers can also make the most of special offers aimed at new users for betting on golf. It is common that free bets can be claimed by those who sign up for an account for the first time.

These free bets can then be used on golf events such as the US Open and the Ryder Cup.

Popular Golf Betting Markets Explained

In order to make a profit from online betting on golf in Ireland, it is important to know about the major markets that are available on the main betting sites in the country.

Here are some of the most important golf betting markets to be aware of when making picks:

• Outright winner: Simple and straightforward, this type of bet is backing a player to top the leaderboard, banking the winners' cheque and lifting the trophy at the end of play. 
• Each way: These work similar to horse racing, the bet splits into two. Part of the stake is on the outright market, with the second half bet on the player to finish in the places. 
• Top 5/10/20 finish: Backers can also select a player to finish in the places, rather than to win the tournament. The places on offer depend on how many entrants are in the event. 
• First-round leader: Very popular nowadays, backers can also bet on a player to be at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the first round of play in a tournament. 
• In-play betting: Golf betting certainly does not have to stop once the first ball is struck off the tee. Many of these markets are still available in golf in-play live betting as well. 
• Top European: A market potentially of interest to Irish golf fans would be the top European. This is often offered for the biggest and best tournaments in America. 
• To make/miss the cut: In golf, only half the field is allowed to complete the tournament by playing the last two rounds over the weekend. It is often possible with the best bookmakers for golf betting in Ireland to bet on which players will make or miss the cut. 
• Specials: Extra options for golf betting fans can include whether or not a hole in one is made during the course of a tournament.

Best Golf Tournaments to Bet on

Golf is a year-round sport these days so there is nearly always a tournament to bet on.

While the majors might dominate the attention, the sport's annual calendar is stacked with events, giving sports fans a huge number of options to select from.

On a typical week, there will be a PGA tournament in America, as well as a European Tour event. These European Tour tournaments are also increasingly held all over the world.

As well as the famous PGA or European Tour tournaments, there are opportunities to make money from golf betting on the LPGA tour, as well as the Challenge Tour and the Web.com Tour.

Specialising in lower-ranked events might provide more chances to profit as these events are not as popular for golf betting.

Here are some of the most popular tournaments to bet on in Ireland:

• The Masters 
• US Open 
• The Open Championship 
• PGA Championship 
• Ryder Cup 
• Irish Open 
• Tour Championship 
• Presidents Cup 
• The Players Championship

Probably the most famous golf tournament in the world, The Masters is huge for betting. The world's best players head to Augusta National in Georgia to compete for the Green Jacket. Usually taking place in the first full week of April, multiple winners include Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Before the main event, there is the Masters Tournament Par-3 contest, which is available to bet on at many of the top online betting sites in Ireland.

Formerly known as the United States Open Championship, the US Open is held in the middle of June. Scoring is usually pretty tough in the US Open, which makes for fascinating golf. It is usually the case that golfers with the strongest mentality perform well at the US Open. Unlike the Masters, which is always at Augusta National, the venue for the US Open rotates regularly.

The only major golf tournament to be held outside of the United States is the Open Championship, which is often held on extremely tough links golf courses. Sometimes called The Open or the British Open, the event was won in 2019 by Shane Lowry, one of the top Irish golfers of modern times. Northern Ireland's Royal Portrush Golf Club, the home of Rory McIlroy, is one of the venues that hosts the Open Championship every few years.

Completing the list of the four major golf tournaments of the year is the PGA Championship, which used to be later in the year but is now played in May on the weekend before Memorial Day in the United States. A large number of different courses have held the PGA Championship, with the chosen venue having a large impact on which players are likely to excel.

Even the most casual of sports fans usually love to tune in to the Ryder Cup, a team-based event that sees the best of Europe face off against elite American players. Hosting of the Ryder Cup rotates between Europe and America, with home advantage usually key. Previously, the Ryder Cup was between Great Britain and the United States but other Europeans have now been eligible to play for decades. Europe's team often has at least one Irish player included.

The top event to be held in Ireland is part of the European Tour Rolex Series - the Irish Open. This tournament is held both north and south of the border, while it is particularly important in the sport as it is one of the main qualifying events for the Open Championship. Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros all won the Irish Open three times during their careers. Irish winners are quite rare but Shane Lowry claimed victory back in 2009.

Towards the end of the season is the Tour Championship, an event that sees the top players in the world face off for the chance to win massive amounts of money. East Lake became the event's permanent home in 2004 and it is now the conclusion of the four-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has won the Tour Championship a couple of times.

Another top team event in the golfing world is the Presidents Cup, which sees the United States play a team made of the best players from the rest of the world, excluding Europe. Like the Ryder Cup, the Presidents Cup takes place every other year with the hosts rotating. The United States tends to dominate this event, making it less enticing in golf betting terms.

Completing our list of the best tournaments to bet on in Ireland is The Players Championship, which is sometimes described as the sport's fifth major tournament. Held for the last 30 years or so at Sawgrass, the event has a massive prize pot and is the home of an iconic par-3 No. 17 with an island green. Jack Nicklaus is the most successful golfer in the history of The Players Championship having won the event three times, in 1974, 1976 and in 1978.

Tips and Strategy for Golf Betting

Golf is popular for betting in Ireland but it can be hard to make a profit as the fields are so large. Even when a small number of players are thought to have a chance of winning a particular tournament, it is always possible that someone comes out of nowhere to take the prize.

That said, outsiders topping the leaderboard can be good for golf betting fans due to the very long odds that are often available, while the chance to bet in-play offers an opportunity to lock in some guaranteed profit as well.

Understanding the different skill sets of golfers is crucial when betting on the sport. Some players thrive on the green with the putter in their hand. Others find it harder to make putts and instead rely on a strong short game. Increasingly in the modern game, power off the tee is valued very highly with stars such as America's Bryson DeChambeau bulking up to give themselves more power. There is usually some balance in the design of the course to try to make it fair, but the way the holes are laid out is often going to give certain players an advantage over some of their peers.

Weather is a factor too. Some golfers struggle when it is cold and wet while others thrive in more difficult conditions for low scoring, such as when there are high winds. A wet course is usually beneficial for players who hit the ball long off the tee, due to the fact it will not roll as far.

There tends to be a lot of hype in golf. Certain players are simply trendier and therefore tend to be more popular to bet on, which shortens their odds. It might be better to steer clear of these players and go for those who tend to operate under the radar and have better prices as a result. With golf events having such large fields, there is nothing wrong with betting on more than one player. Backing a few different players increases the chances of hitting the winner while using a range of markets, such as top 10 or first-round leader, offers the opportunity to profit as well.