For the majority of golfers, the idea of getting a hole in one is a lifelong ambition. For professionals, it isn’t as uncommon as you might think. Most people impose their own life experiences on things when they think about them, so the fact that getting a hole in one is almost impossible for us mere mortals mean that we often think it is for professional golfers. In fact, they are significantly more likely to get one, boasting the power to get the ball far enough, the precision to get it on target and the skill needed to hit the right amount of backspin to give it a chance. As a result, betting on one happening isn’t necessarily wasted money as you might think.
What You Can Bet On
If you’re interesting in placing a bet on there being a hole in one during a tournament, it is always worth having a look to see what the bookmakers are actually accepting bets on.
The most obvious bet is on the straightforward yes/no market. This is a bet on whether there will be a hole in one achieved during the course of the competition and you will usually find that the odds for yes are shorter than they are for no. There are then a host of variations on the same theme, such as 2+ holes in one managed, which sees the odds for yes lengthen a bit as it is obviously a much less likely scenario than a single hole in one.
Some bookmakers will offer you odds on the hole in one being achieved during specific rounds. A hole in one in round 1 is likely to be higher odds than a hole in one on round 2, with round 3 and round 4 also seeing the odds drop. This is because golfers stand more chance of achieving it once they’ve got to grips with the state of the course and how the greens are playing and so on. The only thing that bookies are likely to take into account to change that way of thinking is the pressure that comes in the final round of a competition, when a hole in one becomes trickier simply by way of a golfer’s play being more risk-averse.
Hole Betting
Although some golfers nowadays can hit the ball far enough to mean that even some par 5s can be under pressure from a possible hole in one, the truth is that most bookmakers will only offer you odds of a hole in one being managed on specific holes. That is typically the par 3s, given that they’re much shorter and the entire point is that golfers should be able to hit the green with their first shot. For amateurs, the chances of hitting a hole in one on a par 3 are around 12,500/1. For professionals, that shifts to 2,500/1. With most PGA events seeing 144 players line up, that equates to 4.5/1, or 1/1 for a hole in one during a four day event.
Most courses have four par 3 holes, which is why those odds stand up, some bookmakers will offer odds for each of them. The good news is that, when it comes to the big competitions, there is a wealth of information out there for you to look at. At the Masters, for example, hole 4, hole 6, hole 12 and hole 16 are the par 3s, with hole 16 seeing significantly more holes in one managed than the others. In fact, heading into the 2024 tournament, there had been 24 achieved at hole 16 and 10 managed at the other three holes combined. Little wonder the bookmakers offered much lower odds there than the other holes!
What it means is that you should be doing your research before you consider whether or not to bet on the hole in one market with your chosen bookmaker. There is more than enough information out there in terms of both how well golfers tend to do on particularly holes as well as whether a specific player tends to hit more holes in one than others. The ‘Yes’ market is usually more likely than the ‘No’ market, irrespective of the competition, but you can at least improve the odds of getting the wager right by having a look to see at how things have gone on that front in the past and go from there.