Golf each way betting is two equal bets on one golfer: one to win the tournament and one to finish inside the stated places, which pays at a fraction of the win odds. At an illustrative $41.00, $10 each way on terms of a fifth of the odds for 5 places costs $20, returns $90 if the golfer finishes 2nd to 5th and $500 if the golfer wins.
The fraction and the number of places are each bookmaker's own terms, set tournament by tournament and shown beside the price. Golf leaderboards are full of ties, because scores are whole strokes, so how a tie for the last paid place is settled matters as much as the fraction. Every example below uses illustrative prices for a bet placed before the tournament starts.
How golf each way terms work
Golf place terms have two parts: the fraction of the odds that the place half pays, and the number of places it pays on. "Odds" here means the profit part of the price. The NSW Bookmaker Declared Betting Events Betting Rules, the rule book for NSW-licensed bookmakers authorised to bet on sport, define a fractional price as the ratio of win to stake. So the fraction applies to the profit, and the stake is added back:
place price = (win price - 1) x fraction + 1
With illustrative win prices, here is what three fractions do:
| Win price | A quarter of the odds | A fifth of the odds | A sixth of the odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $4.50 | $3.80 | $3.33 |
| $41.00 | $11.00 | $9.00 | $7.67 |
| $81.00 | $21.00 | $17.00 | $14.33 |
At a fifth of the odds, $41.00 gives (41 - 1) x 1/5 + 1 = $9.00. In Australian racing the place half is normally a separate place price or a tote dividend, as each way betting on the horses explains, while golf markets keep the older fraction-of-the-odds terms. Fractional odds covers reading a price written as 40/1.
What $10 each way on a $41.00 golfer returns
The bet is $10 on the golfer to win at $41.00 plus $10 on a top 5 finish at $9.00, so it costs $20:
| Where the golfer finishes | Win half | Place half | Total return | Profit or loss on $20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wins | $10 x 41.00 = $410.00 | $10 x 9.00 = $90.00 | $500.00 | +$480.00 |
| 2nd to 5th | $0.00 | $90.00 | $90.00 | +$70.00 |
| 6th or worse | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$20.00 |
| Misses the cut | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | -$20.00 |
A winner collects both halves, because 1st is one of the paid places. The same $20 as a straight win bet would return $820 for a win and nothing for 2nd, which is the trade each way makes: less on a win for something back on a top finish.
The place half alone covers the $20 outlay only at a place price of $2.00 or more. At a fifth of the odds that takes a win price of at least $6.00, since (6.00 - 1) x 1/5 + 1 = $2.00. A golfer at $5.00 has a place price of $1.80, so a top 5 finish without a win returns $18 on $20. The each way calculator runs any fraction and number of places.
Extra places: what more paid places are worth
Extra places are a promotion shape: on selected tournaments some bookmakers pay more places than their usual terms, such as 8 or 10 instead of 5, sometimes at a smaller fraction. Each one runs on that bookmaker's own terms, so read them before you bet. What extra places are worth depends on how often the golfer finishes inside the added places, which only an estimate can answer.
Take illustrative estimates for the $41.00 golfer: a 2.0% chance of winning, 8.0% of a top 5, 12.0% of a top 8 and 14.5% of a top 10. Ignoring dead heats, the average return on $10 each way is:
average return = $10 x win price x win chance + $10 x place price x place chance
The win half is the same under every set of terms: $10 x 41.00 x 0.020 = $8.20.
| Terms | Place price | Place half | Average return on $20 | Average result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 places at a fifth | $9.00 | $10 x 9.00 x 0.080 = $7.20 | $15.40 | -$4.60 |
| 8 places at a fifth | $9.00 | $10 x 9.00 x 0.120 = $10.80 | $19.00 | -$1.00 |
| 10 places at a sixth | $7.67 | $10 x 7.6667 x 0.145 = $11.12 | $19.32 | -$0.68 |
Extra places lift the place half, but the win half still sits below its cost in this example, so the whole bet stays below break even on every set of terms. Change the estimates and the answer changes with them.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Extra places make the place half pay on more finishes, not make the golfer finish any higher, and the chances in that table are estimates. See responsible gambling for limits and support.
Dead heats for the last place
Under clause 5.2.3.3 of the NSW rule book, play-off holes count when deciding the winner, but for a place bet any tie after the scheduled holes is settled under clause 5.1.8, where no tie price was offered. The face value of the bet is divided by the number of players tied and multiplied by the paid places left for them. In the worked example the place half's face value is $10 x 9.00 = $90:
| Finish, 5 places paid | Players tied | Paid places left for them | Place half returns | Profit or loss on $20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied for 5th with one other | 2 | 1 | $90 / 2 x 1 = $45.00 | +$25.00 |
| Tied for 5th with three others | 4 | 1 | $90 / 4 x 1 = $22.50 | +$2.50 |
| Tied for 4th with two others | 3 | 2 | $90 / 3 x 2 = $60.00 | +$40.00 |
| Tied for 3rd with two others | 3 | 3 | $90 / 3 x 3 = $90.00 | +$70.00 |
| Tied for 1st, loses the play-off | 2 | 2 | $90 / 2 x 2 = $90.00 | +$70.00 |
The last row is the easy one to misread. The play-off decides the win half, so the loser's $10 win bet is gone, but two players level after 72 holes fill 1st and 2nd between them, and both places are paid, so the place half is paid in full.
Bookmakers licensed outside NSW set their own tie rules, and the rule type can differ. Dead heat rules compares the rule books that cover ties.
Withdrawals, missed cuts and shortened tournaments
These are rule types, so check which one your bookmaker uses:
| What happens | How the each way bet settles |
|---|---|
| The golfer withdraws before teeing off | Under an all-in rule, the NSW default (clause 5.1.1), both halves lose. Under a rule that refunds non-starters, it is a void bet and the $20 comes back |
| The golfer starts, then withdraws or is disqualified | Both halves lose: a golfer who does not finish has no place to be paid on |
| The golfer misses the cut | Both halves lose at halfway. Make the cut explains the cut line |
| A 72-hole tournament is abandoned before 36 holes | NSW rule book: bets on the outcome are void and refunded (5.2.3.1) |
| It is abandoned after 36 or more holes with an official result | NSW rule book: bets stand and settle on that official result (5.2.3.1) |
| Play is suspended, to be finished later | NSW rule book: undecided bets wait for the result, and are refunded if none comes within one month of the scheduled start (5.2.3.5) |
Golf betting markets beyond each way
Golf betting is mostly built from a handful of markets, and each settles a tie its own way. Under the NSW rule book:
| Market | What it pays on | How a tie or a missing player settles |
|---|---|---|
| Outright win | Winning the tournament | A play-off decides it (5.2.3.3) |
| Each way | The win, plus a finish inside the stated places | Ties for the last paid place are dead heats (5.1.8) |
| Top 5, 10 or 20 | Finishing inside that many places | Ties at the cut-off place are dead heats (5.1.8) |
| Tournament head to head | Beating one named golfer over the event | More holes completed wins, then the lower score (5.2.3.4); level scores are a dead heat unless a tie price was offered (5.1.7, 5.1.8) |
| 2-ball or 3-ball | The lowest score over one 18-hole round | Void unless every player in the group completes the 18 holes (5.2.3.7) |
| Make the cut | Playing the final rounds | Where the cut is a top N and ties, everyone level on the cut line goes through, so there is no dead heat; a non-starter loses under an all-in rule (5.1.1) |
A top finish bet puts the whole stake on the place, while each way spends half of it on the win. Golf top 10 betting runs the same golfer both ways, and sports betting explained maps the market types in other sports.
Comparing each way terms between bookmakers
A higher win price is not always the better each way bet, because the terms decide the place half. With illustrative prices, Bookmaker A offers $41.00 at a fifth of the odds for 5 places, and Bookmaker B offers $38.00 at a quarter of the odds for 6 places, a place price of (38 - 1) x 1/4 + 1 = $10.25. For $10 each way:
| Where the golfer finishes | Bookmaker A | Bookmaker B |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | $410.00 + $90.00 = $500.00 | $380.00 + $102.50 = $482.50 |
| 2nd to 5th | $90.00 | $102.50 |
| 6th | $0.00 | $102.50 |
| 7th or worse | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Bookmaker A pays $17.50 more on a win. Bookmaker B pays $12.50 more for 2nd to 5th and $102.50 for a 6th that A does not pay at all, so it pays more on five of the six paid finishes. Read each bookmaker's fraction and number of places on its own market before you compare.
B337's Terminal shows prices from 40+ bookmakers across racing and sports, each bookmaker in its own column, with the best available price picked out. Its sports board lines up head to head, line and total markets, plus player props where offered, for AFL, NRL, NBA, soccer, tennis and more whenever bookmakers have markets up. Not every bookmaker prices every game, and the board refreshes in cycles, so check the price with the bookmaker before you bet. A free account opens a limited view of the Terminal with live odds.
Risk: Betting involves risk. Better terms only change what a bet returns when the golfer finishes in the places, a $9.00 place price implies a top 5 finish only about one time in nine, and there is no guarantee of profit. Deposit limits and free support are on the responsible gambling page.
Mistakes with golf each way bets
- Taking the fraction of the whole price. A fifth of $41.00 read as $8.20 instead of $9.00 makes the $10 place half look like $82 when it returns $90. At a fifth of the odds the shortfall is always 80 cents per dollar of place stake, whatever the win price.
- Forgetting the bet costs double. "$10 each way" is $20 out of your account, and every return above is measured against $20.
- Betting each way on a short-priced golfer. At a fifth of the odds, $5.00 gives a $1.80 place price, so a top 5 finish without a win loses $2.
- Counting a tie for the last place as a full place. Tied for 5th with three others, the $90 place half returns $22.50.
- Assuming a withdrawal is refunded. Under an all-in rule, a golfer who never tees off costs the whole $20.
- Reading only the win price. As the comparison above shows, the place half can be worth more than a higher win price.