2026 Golf Draft Kit: Daily Fantasy Sports Strategy

There aren't many who visit RotoWire Golf that are not familiar with daily fantasy sports golf contests.

The reason you come here is, well, you play fantasy golf. But there are always new players -- youth coming of age, adults who heard about their friends playing -- maybe fantasy footballers looking for something to do in the offseason. Heavy hitters like DraftKings and FanDuel count on more people playing fantasy sports every year.

So we have to spend a little time on the basics before moving on. Hey, there was a time in the not-too-distant past that no one even knew the basics.

Hopefully, the more experienced players will stick around, because there are tips for you too -- and some that might give you a little bit of an edge.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

We're going to use DraftKings as our guide for this article, since it is the overwhelming leader in DFS golf. But virtually all of what will be discussed also pertains to other platforms like FanDuel and otherwise.

In golf, "Daily" Fantasy Sports can be daily but usually is "weekly." Most games span a given week's tournament, be it the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, LIV Golf or LPGA Tour.

You pick six golfers who are entered in the tournament, and they must fit under a $50,000 threshold. Every golfer is assigned a price by DraftKings. The world's best -- Scottie Scheffler -- could check in at $11,000 or above, and Rory McIlroy won't be far behind. There is a large middle, which is usually headlined by someone the caliber of Tommy Fleetwood. The cheapest golfers --not a reference to Matt Kuchar's tipping habits -- could be $6,000 or sometimes even $5,000. However you do it, your six have to cost $50,000 or less.

There are generally two types of games to play, and those are Cash and GPP -- Guaranteed Prize Pool, also known as "tournament." Cash games are for beginners or those with less risk tolerance. They can involve as few as two competitors. It's possible to play for 25 cents or $1 -- or even for free. The payouts are generally small and can be split among multiple players. GPP games could include tens of thousands of players -- usually better DFS players or those with bigger bankrolls -- with entry fees in the hundreds of dollars vying for perhaps a $1 million first prize. We will detail more specific types of games below.

So, how to decide on a lineup of six golfers? There are many variables to consider. There's the price, a player's course history, the skill set required at that course -- good iron players, good putters, etc. -- a player's recent form, weather, injuries and even the type of grass on the greens.

It's important to note that DFS and sports betting are not available in every state, and each state has its own set of limitations. DFS and online betting sites track your location on your device to ensure you are eligible to play. If your state doesn't allow fantasy sports or sports betting, it very well could soon. Sports betting is now legal in more than 30 states, mostly online but some only in person. In California, for instance, DFS is legal but betting through a sportsbook is not.

DAILY FANTASY SPORTS SCORING

Golfers get points based on how they fare in the actual tournament. You get points added or taken away depending on what your players do. But whereas in real golf a birdie is just as good as a bogey is bad, it's not that way in Daily Fantasy Sports.

For instance, birdies are worth three points, but bogeys only cost you 0.5 points. Eagles are worth eight points but double bogeys take only one point off. A par is worth 0.5 points. Each of the DFS providers scores a bit differently, but the gist is the same: They all reward riskier play. A golfer who totals, say, eight birdies, three bogeys and seven pars will net you more points than one with five birdies, no bogeys and 13 pars. Both are 5-under-par, but the first one is better in the DFS universe.

There are bonuses for players winning the tournament or finishing high on the leaderboard or for various streaks, such as three consecutive birdies, bogey-free rounds, rounds under 70, holes-in-one, etc. Again, each site is slightly different.

TYPES OF GAMES

There are several styles of play, among them Head-to-Head, Double Up and 50-50. They all revolved around the six-player, $50,000 salary cap format. That's universal.

These games tend to have smaller entry fees and therefore the payouts are not great. But some very smart players realize that if you keep doubling your money -- even if it's just $5 or $10 at time -- it can add up fairly quickly.

Head-to-Head is what the title says: You play against one other person for a certain dollar amount, and either they take your money or you take theirs, minus the "rake" for DraftKings, which is akin to "the house" in Vegas parlance. If you each put in, say, $1, the winner gets $1.80, and the rake for the website is 20 cents. You could play against a random person or a friend. If you and a friend are learning together, this is a good way to get started.

In 50-50, half the entrants win. Let's say there's a game with 10 players and everyone puts in $1. The top five finishers -- no matter who finishes first or who finishes fifth -- win $1.80 each. That's a total of $9 and the site gets $1 as the rake.

In Double Up, about 40 percent of the entrants win -- and double their entry fee. Let's say there's a game with 23 players and everyone puts in $3. That's $69. The top 10 finishers win $6 each, again regardless of finishing position. That's a total of $60. The "house" gets the other $9.

Those are the games, and here is some strategy for playing them.

LINEUP CONSTRUCTION

Okay, now you have the rules and a bit of a sense of how to play. It's time to formulate a lineup.

If a golfer is playing well heading into a tournament, great. If not, it's a bit risky -- even if DFS golf rewards risk -- to assume he will find his form just when you need him to. Sometimes, course history is more important than current form, but in that case, it has to be quite the track record. Rarely do the better golfers continue to play courses they are terrible at unless it's a major or another big event.

Secondly, when writing RotoWire's weekly DraftKings PGA DFS Picks article, I examine the course to see which stats will be critical to success. Does the track favor longer hitters? Or is accurate iron play paramount? What about scrambling and putting? And so on. Sometimes it seems you can never drill down far enough: Some golfers are better on, say, Pete Dye-designed courses. Some putt better on bermudagrass, others on bentgrass. You don't have to be an agronomist to play DFS, but it wouldn't hurt.

THE FIRST CUT IS THE DEEPEST

And the second one hurts even more. Most of the time, if one of your six golfers misses the cut, it will wreck your chances. DraftKings has solved that problem to some degree, offering weekend and single-day contests to keep interest -- and opportunities to play -- on full blast.

If a golfer makes it to the weekend and struggles, it's still going to be better for you than if he didn't get there at all. And there's also the chance he can get hot. You might be able to withstand one missed cut in a cash game, but not a Guaranteed Prize Pool contest with hundreds or thousands of players. Oh, you could still win some money in a GPP with only five golfers making the cut, as some games pay more than the first 100 finishers. But the payouts drop very far and very fast after the top handful.

When filling out the bottom of your lineup, you are looking to minimize risk. Find a golfer who makes a lot of cuts or who has made a number in a row. He might get more pars than birdies, which isn't optimal, but it's better than heading home on Friday night. If you want to play with more risk, just make sure to know what lies ahead.

THE FORK IN THE ROAD

There are two general types of lineups: stars-and-scrubs or balanced. The first option means if you pick a $10,000-$11,000 golfer, you'll likely need to fill out your lineup and stay within the salary cap by dipping into the $6,000s. In a balanced lineup, all six golfers would be in the $7,000-$9,000 range. For cash games, balance is the way to go. In GPP, you will want to calculate or anticipate golfers who are not highly owned to try to separate yourself from the masses. Of course, if you think a guy will do well or even win, going in a different direction just because you anticipate someone will be popular doesn't make much sense. There are websites and X accounts that track expected rostership. Consult them.

No matter who you pick, think with your head and not your heart. Don't pick golfers because you are a fan of theirs. Conversely, don't avoid golfers you dislike if you think they otherwise would be the proper play. Of course, that's easier said than done.

RISK/REWARD

Birdie average. Birdie-or-better percentage. Birdie-to-bogey ratio. Bogey avoidance. These are stats the PGA Tour tracks. As discussed earlier, not all 5-unders are created equally. Golfers who take more chances and get more birdies are good for your lineup -- though maybe not your blood pressure. For the most part, the best golfers in the actual tournament will also be the best golfers in DFS scoring. But there are some small differences, and that's all it takes to win or lose your contest. Take a look at those stats. Some weeks -- specifically on the tougher courses with lower winning scores -- you may want to consider avoiding bogeys more than making birdies. Make the cut. Live to play another day -- or two more days.

STRAIGHT TALK

There are many other stats to consider, and they differ depending on the course. But there is one kind of golfer who never goes out of style: the kind who can get from Point A to Point B in the shortest time and on the straightest line. Focus on Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, Strokes Gained: Approach and Greens in Regulation. More often than not, that golfer will be a quality pick. He may not be able to win because he can't putt, but he will be around for the weekend and maybe do a whole lot more. Every lineup needs good filler around the top options.

GOLF TWITTER (X)

Golf Twitter is like a bunch of golf fans sitting around the clubhouse talking golf. Only there are a lot more of them and they're all talking at once. X is a great news source. You learn about injuries -- RotoWireGolf on X is particularly helpful with this -- and other important factors. And you can get a handle on rostership levels and just an overall vibe of how to read the tournament. As mentioned, there are websites that track/predict rostership levels. And, like RotoWire, many sites have analysts making picks. Some sites are free; some are subscription-based. The weekly DFS articles on RotoWire are free to all. Also, follow the actual golfers on social media. You might get an injury tip or a schedule update or something similar.

FLAVOR OF THE WEEK

At various points during the season, we see a golfer come out of nowhere to have a good week, or even a few good weeks. And Golf Twitter goes crazy. Just like the best guys go through slow stretches, lesser players rise from the ashes every now and then. Most often, they will return from whence they came in short order. And these guys tend to do better in weaker fields when many stars take the week off. Often, the DFS sites will overreact and you will see that reflected in their prices. It's a sucker play. Sure, one or two guys come out of nowhere every year for an entire season. But they are few and far between. And there's a reason the golfer everyone is calling "The Next Big Thing" was on the Korn Ferry Tour last year.

Now we will get into some more nuanced thinking, perhaps not needed for cash games but it can't hurt.

LIVING ON THE EDGE

The odds for a golfer to win a tournament will often CLOSELY mirror his DFS price. But every week there are a number of prices that don't quite make sense, with a golfer looking way overpriced or like an incredible bargain. How do you know that? You follow golf. Sometimes it's obvious. For a second opinion, check the odds at a sportsbook or other sources. Those oddsmakers are pretty smart dudes, and I'm certainly not saying the DFS price-makers aren't. Look for the discrepancies. You might be able to take advantage of them.

AVOID THE CROWD

Rostership levels -- knowing how many lineups in a given contest a golfer is expected to be part of -- can be used in cash games but are far more important in GPP contests. This type of thinking could prepare you for the next level of DFS play. It is far from an exact science, and it can be risky. Some experienced gamers can do it. You might want to fade a golfer you think will do well because you think he will be highly selected. Try not to overthink things -- don't double-cross yourself.

But if all the evidence points to a golfer being highly selected, and you can find a comparable player with less predicted rostership or even at a cheaper price, then steer clear of the chalk. Once again, there are sites that monitor these levels early in the week. They tend to be for the biggest games, but there is some connection throughout all contests.

One more thing about high rostership: Most people aren't right too often. If they were, the sportsbooks would be out of business. So when I see high rostership, I think that not that many people can be right. That doesn't work 100 percent of the time, unless we're talking Scottie Scheffler, but you get the picture.

Let's be clear: We don't want you to stray from the top players. If you really like a golfer, and he's a popular pick, you can stick with him. You have five other chances to differentiate your lineup from the pack.

WEATHER, OR NOT

Most of the time, weather will not be a big enough factor to affect lineup construction. But sometimes a storm is expected to move in, or the wind is expected to pick up, say, on a Thursday or Friday afternoon. If it looks like conditions will be extreme, you might be able to avoid them.

Check tee times. And don't lock your lineup until the last possible moment.

Every site, including RotoWire, gets articles out early in the week for maximum exposure and readership. So we don't have the latest weather forecast. You do.

If it looks like weather in the morning or afternoon could result in a specific advantage for certain tee times, or if it looks as if two rounds won't be completed by Friday evening, this could impact your thinking.

I personally like to have my golfers finish up Friday instead of having to come out Saturday morning to complete their second round. The better to stay on routine. That means siding with the late/early tee times.

VARIATIONS

Everything we've discussed so far has centered around four-day games -- full-tournament games. Those are known in the DraftKings universe as "Classic." But there are also "Weekend" games that cover Saturday and Sunday and "Showdown" games that are one-day tussles. These are great if your Classic lineup is toast by Friday afternoon and you still want some action to stay interested.

In Showdown, prices can swing wildly from what they were in Classic. The strategy also changes. It's still golf, but if you're asking someone to have only one good round, the chances he can do it are greater. It seems risk-taking would and should be rampant here. Take a flyer on a lesser golfer who could become a great golfer for one round. Another consideration: It's hard to follow up a great round with another great round. With the narrow focal point of a single round, even a tee time could be an important tool.

DraftKings also has something called "Captain Mode." You still pick six golfers and have $50,000, but your team's designated "captain" accrues 1.5 points more than he ordinarily would. The catch? You also have to pay 1.5 times the price to get him. You pick the captain, and it doesn't always have to be your highest-priced golfer. This is the format for the Ryder and Presidents Cups.

It's not better, it's not worse. It's just another game that DraftKings has created to help the gamer get his or her fill.

FINAL WORDS

Like with anything, there is no substitute for repetition. The more you play, the more you will learn, the more you will figure it. RotoWire is always here to help -- even the best daily fantasy players rely on data and information. Start slow, start cheap. If you lose too much too soon, it may turn you off entirely.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, tournament participation and overall golfer performance, head to RotoWire's latest golf news or follow @RotoWireGolf on X.