Fantasy Golf: How to Maximize Your DraftKings Lineups
By Matt Cochran
Fantasy golf is taking off in the daily fantasy sports community, but you have to understand the game in order to succeed. Here are a few tips to help maximize your DraftKings lineups.
Daily fantasy sports have been all the rage for the past year, but despite run-ins with government, DraftKings is still going strong. Surprisingly, fantasy golf is one of the more popular sports offered by the daily fantasy website.
I’ll be the first to admit that golf isn’t the most glamorous sport to glue yourself to the TV, but if you have some incentive to watch it makes things much more interesting. That’s where fantasy golf steps in.
With fantasy football gone for the next seven months, there is not better way to fill your fantasy void than with fantasy golf. The PGA TOUR schedule is starting to get down to the meat of things as major season is quickly approaching. That means there are plenty of big names playing week in and week out.
Fantasy golf can be an exciting experience if you know what you’re doing. With money prizes on the line, owners can turn a few dollars into a nice jackpot.
In order to do this, however, you must understand the in and outs of the game. From understanding the scoring system to the different strategies, fantasy golf is more than just picking the popular golfers. You know how to maximize your lineups.
Here are a few tips to take into account when setting those fantasy golf lineups. Follow this advice to ensure you are getting the most from your DFS adventures.
Knowing Your Leagues
DraftKings offers many different types of leagues you can choose from each week. They offer larger beginner leagues to head-to-head matchups, tournament leagues, and 50/50 games. It’s important to understand the league type before setting your lineups because the strategy might change.
- Beginner – Playing against other DraftKings beginners.
- GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool) – GPP’s will pay out to the entire prize pool regardless if the league fills out the max contestants or not.
- Leagues – Leagues are based on how many entries there are. If the league doesn’t fill up, then money will be refunded and they league won’t play.
- Head-to-Head – Playing against one other competitor only. Winner takes all.
- 50/50s – Teams finishing in the top half of the entries will receive cash prizes, despite how many entries.
- Multipliers – Risk winning up to 3x to 10x the amount you enter the contest for.
Maximizing Scores
It’s important to understand how the scoring system works in fantasy golf for DraftKings. When you understand how to earn points, that will help when searching for golfers. You’ll want guys higher on the list in birdie average and golfers who lead in the eagle category.
Here’s a look at how you’ll earn points for your lineups. Try to understand the scoring system to help maximize your scores. The following list comes from DraftKings official fantasy golf rules.
- Per Hole Scoring
- Double Eagle (DBL EAG): +20 PTs
- Eagle (EAG): +8 PTs
- Birdie (BIR): +3 PTs
- Par (PAR): +0.5 PTs
- Bogey (BOG): -0.5 PTs
- Double Bogey (DBL BOG): -1 PT
- Worse than Double Bogey (WORSE DBL BOG): -1 PT
- Tournament Finish Scoring
- 1st: 30 PTs
- 2nd: 20 PTs
- 3rd: 18 PTs
- 4th: 16 PTs
- 5th: 14 PTs
- 6th: 12 PTs
- 7th: 10 PTs
- 8th: 9 PTs
- 9th: 8 PTs
- 10th: 7 PTs
- 11th–15th: 6 PTs
- 16th–20th: 5 PTs
- 21st–25th: 4 PTs
- 26th–30th: 3 PTs
- 31st–40th: 2 PTs
- 41st-50th: 1 PTs
- Streaks and Bonuses
- Streak of 3 Birdies of Better (MAX 1 Per Round) (3+ BIR STRK): +3 PTs
- Bogey Free Round (BOG FREE RD): +3 PTs
- All 4 Rounds Under 70 Strokes (ALL 4 RDS UND 70): +5 PTs
- Hole in One (HOLE IN ONE): +10 PTs
Finding Value With Your Golfers
DraftKings allows you to have $50,000 to pick six golfers to field your lineups. For that reason, it’s important to find value from your golfers if you want to be able to afford a big name. The Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy picks will cost you around $12,000 each week, so finding some cheap options will be essential.
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There are a number of factors that going into finding a value golfer. Some of the best options for the week can be found in the $7,000 price range.
One of the biggest factors I look for is guys with decent track records on the upcoming course. Go to PGATOUR.com and look at past results of the tournaments to see who plays well there. Despite how a golfer is playing entering the week, a familiar course can do wonders for a struggling player.
I also look for the golfer who is trending upward entering the week. Fantasy golf is all about finding the hottest golfers at the right time. Earlier this year Brandt Snedeker was the guy to go with. Recently, I’ve been really bullish on Si Woo Kim.
Lastly, take a look at the stats. Study the course the golfers will be playing on and figure out what kind of game sets up well for the track. Then take a look at the leaders for the season in those stats. Some of the most popular categories include birdie average, driving distance, and greens in regulation.
Fading the Public
Picking the highest priced golfer each week isn’t always the smartest option. In fact, the smartest play is to usually avoid the overpriced big names. Let the rest of the daily fantasy golf community go after those names.
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You only have so much money to spend on your lineups, so buying a Jordan Spieth for $13,000 is a risky play. If we learned anything from Spieth at the Northern Trust Open, it’s that a sure thing isn’t always the best option. There will always be a golfer with just as equal value at a much cheaper price.
Fading the public is essential in fantasy golf. Spieth has a high ownership week in and week out, but he missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open. Everyone who relied on that high-priced option had their week ruined. Meanwhile, those who faded the popularity of Spieth benefited from his collapse.
Just because the majority of fantasy golf world is going with a golfer, doesn’t mean you should. Each tournament usually has a deep field with plenty of value throughout. Do your research and find the cheaper options. Fade the public.
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Having a strategy while setting your fantasy golf lineups for the week can make all the difference from placing in the money and just missing out. Following these few tips can take your fantasy golf lineups to the next level.