By PJ Powers

Your golf handicap is calculated with a formula that averages how a player should be able to play better than par.

There are two slightly different ways to calculate your handicap which I detail below.

A wide spread belief amongst golfers is that a player’s handicap is their average score, when in fact your golf handicap is only the potential of your game. Most golfers play their handicap 25% of the time, known as playing your “average best.” So in a large, handicapped competition, the golfer who shoots the best with respect to his or her abilities and the normal variations of the score should win.

While there are many variations, handicap systems are generally based on calculating an individual player’s playing ability from his or her recent history of rounds. Therefore, a handicap is not fixed but is regularly adjusted to increases or decreases in a player’s scoring.

A golfer whose handicap is zero is called a “scratch golfer.” A golfer whose handicap is 20 is called a “bogey golfer.” It is possible to have a handicap below 0; these are referred to as ‘plus’ handicaps, and at the end of the round, a ‘plus’ handicap golfer must add his handicap to his score. A professional golfer plays off scratch, but has no actual handicap.

In the United States, handicaps are calculated using the player’s most recent game scores, along with the course ratings and slopes from the courses played.

Here’s how to calculate your golf handicap.

1. Take the scores from the last five rounds (18 holes each) that you played.
2. Get the rating and slope for each course that you played for each of these five scores. You can find this information on the course’s scorecard.
3. Now subtract the course rating from the score you earned on that course.
4. Then multiply that number by 113.
5. Then simply divide that number by the slope of the course. This number is known as your differential.
6. And last… Take the lowest of your five differentials and multiply it by 0.96, and you’ll have your handicap!

Now as you may have figured out from the above, recalculating your handicap every time you play can be time-consuming and annoying. So you may want to look up some great Golf Handicap Tracker software packages that can do all the leg work for you in one single swoop.

PJ Powers writes for Golfintel which helps you discover the little known scorecard secret top players use to consistently improve your game and lower your handicap: Calculate your golf handicap with a state-of-the-art golf handicap tracker.

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By RJ Bell

The key to golf betting is differentiating the two main wagering options, so we’re here to serve as your gambling caddy and give you helpful tips on how to understand PGA golf odds. With golf, you can either bet on an individual to win a tournament or take part in “Matchup Betting” which involves wagering on artificially created golf matchups set by oddsmakers specifically for betting purposes.

“Betting to Win” an outcome event like The Masters is the most common way to wager on golf. Since golf has multiple tournaments over the course of a year, “Betting to Win” obviously offers numerous wagering opportunities.

Keep in mind that not all the competitors in a PGA golf tournament may be individually listed to win, so another golf betting option is the “field” bet which includes all other competitors not listed.

The PGA golf odds on a “field” bet depend on how many golfers are listed and how likely it is for the top golfers to win. In other words, if the same five or six golfers seem to battle it out for the top spots on the leaderboard from tournament to tournament, the odds on the “field” will be much higher since there is less likelihood that one of the longshots in the “field” will win. However, major upsets seem to occur much more often in golf than other sports, so a “field” bet is typically comparable to a bet on the favorite odds-wise in order to protect sportsbooks from taking a big hit. In exchange for a lesser payout, field bettors do gain the advantage of having more than one entrant that can win for them.

Here’s an example:

• Favorites or top golfers = 5/1 to 10/1
• 36 or so other well-known golfers listed individually = 10/1 to 200/1
• Field (collection of 36 or more not listed) = 10/1

Some sportsbooks will also allow you to bet futures on the four major PGA tournaments, which is yet another way you can “Bet to Win” that can offer you appealing odds because you are betting far in advance of when the event takes place. For example, betting on the 2006 Masters golf tournament now might get you much better value on Tiger Woods, who may be 10/1 at this moment but dip to 6/1 closer to the event if he is on a roll.

“Matchup Betting” offers an alternative to simply betting on a golf tournament’s winner. Artificial head-to-head matchups are created by oddsmakers and involve golfers who are all competing against each other to win the tourney, with the bet specifically focused upon how one golfer finishes compared to another golfer in the matchup. Group matchups are another “matchup betting” option particularly popular in golf and auto racing events like NASCAR, where you can select how one golfer will finish compared to other golfers in the group. Both head-to-head and group matchup golf odds are based on the money line.

If you like a particular golfer going into a tournament, your best move is to compare matchups across multiple online sportsbooks and bet a larger amount on the biggest mismatch in your estimation. Then you can also put down a small wager on your favorite golfer to win the tournament in case he does come through and win the tournament. By betting your golfer to win the tournament and a matchup, you’ll have double the fun knowing you’ve got double the chances to win!

Here are a couple final important tips to consider before picking your golfer:

• It’s advisable to stay away from betting the public’s favorite golfers since you won’t get much value there.
• Research the golfer’s history, especially how he performs on a particular course since tournaments are typically played on the same course each year and some courses definitely play to a golfer’s strengths better than others.

If you are a knowledgeable PGA golf fan who has a good feel about how tournaments will likely turn out, you should most definitely trust your insights and use them to find strong bets. For those of you with less experience, several sports web sites have power rankings for golfers which should give you a good idea of who’s hot on the links and who’s not. Of course it’s up to you to decide which golfer you want to bet on, but the more you learn about PGA golf, the more prepared you will be when placing your bet. Hopefully now at least you know the basics of betting golf and how to use golf odds to your advantage!

RJ Bell is the founder of Pregame.com – Where sports bettors get ready. RJ has been an expert contributor to Maxim Magazine, CNN.com, About.com, and ABC News – and has won 3 world handicapping championships! Located in Las Vegas, the Pregame.com team works at adding to your betting confidence with powerful game insights and sportsbook reviews. FreePicksByEmail.com, the biggest daily sports betting newsletter, delivers help from famous handicappers.

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GIST: Very brief and clear instructions on how to keep score the Stableford way, the funky scoring system used at the PGA’s INTERNATIONAL golf tournament that rewards an aggressive and risky playing style.

MY TAKE: A scoring system better suited to the way I like to play! Cool! Not that it’ll make me win more (repeat after me: “Going for it does not mean making it”), but with birdies earning 2 and bogeys costing just 1, I won’t feel so guilty going for the green every chance I can. [GO]

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GIST: A good, brief, and clear primer on playing Nassau. Basically, you bet against your buds in three separate categories: total holes won on the front 9, back 9, and the full 18. It gets more interesting, and more complicated, with “presses” (additional side bets). This blog posting explains how it all works.

MY TAKE: It’s completely up to you whether you want to introduce wagering into your regular rounds. Some say it ruins the game, and others insist it adds a whole new more intriguing and competitive dimension. To each his own. But if you’re interested in betting, this is the game to learn. For some reason, it appears to be the most popular one out there. Best stay away from presses — or worse, automatic presses — until you’re past the Nassau beginner stage and quite confident that you know what the heck’s going on. Or just bring lots of cash. [GO]

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