What is Fantasy Golf? A Complete Beginner's Guide

Fantasy golf is one of the most engaging ways to follow professional golf. Instead of just watching tournaments, you become an active participant—picking players, tracking their performance, and competing against friends to see who really knows the game.

If you've played fantasy football or fantasy baseball, the concept is familiar. If you haven't, don't worry—fantasy golf is straightforward to learn and incredibly fun once you get started.

The Basic Concept

In fantasy golf, you select real PGA Tour golfers to form your "team" before each tournament. As those golfers play in actual PGA Tour events, you earn points based on how well they perform.

The better your golfers play, the more points you earn. Your points are compared against other players in your league to determine rankings. Over the course of a season—or even a single tournament—you compete to see who can accumulate the most points.

How Picking Players Works

Before each PGA Tour tournament, you'll pick a set number of golfers (typically 4-6 players, depending on the format). Your goal is to choose golfers you think will perform well that week.

Unlike fantasy football where you might draft a team for the whole season, most fantasy golf formats let you pick fresh players each tournament. This keeps things dynamic—you're making decisions every week based on who's playing well, who fits the course, and who you think will contend.

Things to Consider When Picking

• Current form: How has the player been performing recently?
• Course history: Has this player done well at this venue before?
• World ranking: Higher-ranked players tend to be more consistent
• Course fit: Does the player's style match what the course demands?

You don't need to be a golf expert to make good picks. Start with players you've heard of, pay attention to who's been playing well, and you'll develop intuition over time.

How Fantasy Golf Scoring Works

Scoring systems vary between platforms, but the core principle is the same: golfers earn points based on their finishing position in the tournament.

A typical scoring system might look like:

• 1st place: 30 points
• 2nd place: 20 points
• 3rd place: 18 points
• 4th place: 16 points
• 5th place: 14 points
• 6th-10th: 12-8 points
• 11th-20th: 7-4 points
• 21st-40th: 3-1 points
• Missed cut: 0 points

Some formats also award points for specific achievements like eagles, birdies, or hole-in-ones. The exact system depends on your league or app.

Types of Fantasy Golf Formats

Fantasy golf comes in several flavors. Here are the most common:

Season-Long Leagues

You compete with the same group across the entire PGA Tour season (January through August). Points accumulate week after week, and the player with the most points at the end of the season wins.

This format rewards consistency and long-term strategy. You can recover from bad weeks, and making good picks over time matters more than any single tournament.

Single Tournament Contests

Pick your players for one specific tournament and compete just for that week. This is great for casual play or when you want to focus on a major championship like The Masters or the U.S. Open.

Draft Leagues

Similar to fantasy football drafts, players take turns selecting golfers. Once a golfer is drafted, no one else can use them. This format adds strategy around the draft order and requires deeper roster management.

Salary Cap

Each golfer has a "salary" based on their ability, and you have a budget to build your roster. This prevents everyone from picking the same top players and rewards finding value—good players at lower prices.

Why Fantasy Golf is Different (And Better)

If you've played other fantasy sports, golf offers some unique advantages:

No injuries to worry about

Golf doesn't have the constant injury drama of football or basketball. Players occasionally withdraw, but you won't have your fantasy season derailed by a torn ACL.

Every tournament is a fresh start

Unlike season-long drafts where a bad draft can sink your season, most fantasy golf lets you pick new players each week. Made a mistake last week? You get another chance immediately.

Watching is more engaging

When you have golfers picked, every shot matters. A birdie putt that used to be background noise becomes genuinely exciting when your fantasy team depends on it.

You learn the sport

Playing fantasy golf makes you pay attention to players you might have ignored. You'll learn course histories, player tendencies, and the subtleties of different tournaments. It deepens your appreciation for the game.

Getting Started: Step by Step

Ready to play? Here's how to start:

Step 1: Join or Create a League

The most fun way to play fantasy golf is with friends. Create a private league and invite people you know—coworkers, golf buddies, family members. The bragging rights make it personal.

Step 2: Learn the Schedule

The PGA Tour runs from January through August, with tournaments nearly every week. Check out our 2026 PGA Tour schedule to see what's coming up.

Step 3: Make Your First Picks

Don't overthink it. For your first tournament, pick players you've heard of who are currently playing well. You'll develop strategy over time—for now, just get in the game.

Step 4: Follow Along

Once the tournament starts, check the leaderboard. Watch how your players are doing. Pay attention to who's making birdies and who's struggling. This is where fantasy golf becomes addictive.

Step 5: Learn and Adjust

After each tournament, reflect on what worked and what didn't. Over time, you'll get better at recognizing patterns and making smarter picks.

Common Beginner Mistakes

A few pitfalls to avoid as you're starting out:

Picking only big names

The top 10 players in the world don't win every week. Sometimes lesser-known players have great weeks. Don't ignore the entire field just to pick the same five superstars every tournament.

Ignoring course history

Some players consistently perform well at specific courses. A player ranked 50th in the world might have three top-10 finishes at a particular venue. That history matters.

Chasing last week's winner

Just because someone won last week doesn't mean they'll contend this week. Golf is streaky, but week-to-week results vary enormously. Don't assume momentum carries over automatically.

Forgetting to make picks

Deadlines matter. Most fantasy golf formats lock picks before the first tee time on Thursday. Set a reminder so you don't miss the deadline and get stuck with auto-picks (or no picks at all).

Fantasy Golf Terminology

A quick glossary of terms you'll encounter:

• Made cut: The player finished in the top half of the field after two rounds and gets to play the weekend
• Missed cut (MC): The player didn't make it to the weekend—no points
• WD: Withdrawal—the player left the tournament early (often due to injury)
• DQ: Disqualified—the player was removed from the tournament
• T-finish: Tied finish (e.g., T15 means tied for 15th place)
• Form: How well a player has been performing recently
• Course fit: How well a player's skills match what a particular course demands

Start Playing Today

Fantasy golf is the perfect way to make every PGA Tour tournament more engaging. Whether you're a lifelong golf fan or just getting into the sport, picking players and competing with friends adds a new dimension to watching professional golf.

Better than Most makes it easy to create leagues, pick players, and track live scoring across every tournament. No complicated setups, no overwhelming options—just you, your picks, and the leaderboard.

The 2026 PGA Tour season is underway. It's time to see who really knows golf.