How To Get Started With Fantasy Golf - PGA Fantasy Simplified

Fantasy golf is one of the more interesting types of fantasy sports out there, though you may be surprised to know that fantasy sports may have started with PGA fantasy, way back in the 1950s. In the latter part of that decade, Oakland businessman Bill Winkenbach came up with his own fantasy golf league, though it was strictly a niche hobby that he and his friends participated in. Fast forward to present day, and you’ve got sites such as DraftKings that have organized daily fantasy golf tournaments where you can win some money by picking the right players.

So how do you play these tournaments anyway?

In DraftKings, you’ll be asked to select six golfers from a list of competitors confirmed for an upcoming tournament, while making sure you don’t exceed the $50,000 in-game fantasy cap. And the scoring goes far beyond who’s finished with the lowest score on a given day. You can score points in two main ways, first of which is by per-hole scoring. A double eagle is worth 20 points, an eagle eight points, a birdie three points, and a par 0.5 points. But when your selected golfers do poorly in a hole, you lose points – bogeys are worth -0.5 points, and double bogeys or anything worse than that worth -1 point. Tournament finishes are the second way for you to collect points; you can score as high as 30 points if your golfer finished first, or as low as one point if he finished in the bottom ten.

There’s also a third way to score in fantasy golf – through streaks and bonuses. DraftKings gives you plus three if your golfer had a streak of three birdies or better, plus three if he scores a bogey-free round, plus five if all four rounds were under 70 strokes, and plus ten for a hole-in-one.

As for making the right PGA fantasy picks, here are some quick simple tips for you to keep in mind. First, it’s always a good idea to read up on your golfer of choice’s recent performances. Take note of how he performs on a certain course, and if he has a history of performing poorly on said course, you might want to avoid him. You should also keep your lineup of six golfers as balanced as possible, and avoid overspending on too many star players. Good luck!

For more advanced fantasy golf tips, check out fantasy expert advice.