Golf Form

Golf Form is the term commonly used to describe the current performance of a player. An individual who is in “good form” will therefore be playing better and, in all probability, getting better results than one who is said to be in “poor form”. As far as betting on golf is concerned, it always makes sense to put money only on those players who are currently in good form, and to avoid betting on those who aren’t.

There are many ways of evaluating the form of golfers, so here are three of the most common methods for your consideration:

• Ranking –The official ranking of players is generally a pretty reliable guide to how well they are doing, so you could start by finding out how the player you are considering compares with the other competitors. For example, if you are thinking about betting on a particular player to win a two ball then you could look at the form and see if your selection has a better ranking than his opponent. If he does then this will give you more confidence in your selection, but if the opponent has a better ranking you may need to exercise more caution.
• Statistics – Results from previous tournaments are another reliable indicator of golf form, but be sure to focus mainly on recent results and not on career statistics. A player who has performed well over the course of his career but has performed badly in the last year or so will not be as good a bet as one who has performed well in recent months regardless of their career stats.
• Market Expectation – Because bookmakers don’t like to lose money, they always carry out their own form assessment and offer shorter odds about the players that they think have the best chance of winning. Whilst this doesn’t mean that you can afford to blindly follow the favourites, it does mean that you can use the market expectation as a rough guide to each player’s chances.

May 13, 2008