Realizing full-well that there is a certain stigma attached to Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS for short), we are here to dispel those notions and persuade you to give Daily Fantasy Golf a try. We are the Tour Junkies – a duo comprised of two guys, David and Pat, who have been deep in the DFS game since the beginning and decided to share that passion with others via our podcast and website. We connected with the guys at No Laying Up a couple years ago and have stayed in touch. DFS is certainly not for everyone (read on to see if you fall into that group). The following is an intro to PGA DFS and why you should play, followed tomorrow by a look at some tips on how to play and who to look out for this season (also applicable to regular fantasy golf).
We’re firm believers in the great hipster millennial-mind of Simon Sinek, who says “start with why.” So, why would anyone choose to invest time & money in playing DFS? Naturally this answer varies to some degree depending upon the person, as does the veracity with which people play DFS. It’s a wide spectrum, which is great. You do you, man. Here’s why we play:
- As I’m sure holds true with anyone visiting this site, we LOVE golf. Playing golf, reading golf, going to golf tournaments, indoctrinating our kids in golf, etc. Simple enough.
- When it comes to watching golf on TV, we used to only watch the majors, Ryder Cup, and then a few random events with passing interest. We tried to go deeper, but just couldn’t get excited about the actual golfers. It wasn’t the act of watching golf that was less than stimulating. It was the act of watching #LPCP poster boy, Matt Kuchar, headline an event with Shawn Stefani and Cameron Tringale right on the heels of his Sketchers on moving day. We just couldn’t do it. But now that we’ve got some skin in the game and know the players it’s a whole different ballgame. Watching the Sanderson Farms Championship is now akin to watching a Thursday night Jaguars/Rams game with the sole intent of seeing if Bortles feeds in garbage time for my fantasy squad or if the Rams can protect the under. Tour Junkies NOT pictured.
- We’re competitive. Aside from church league basketball (I’m from Georgia, it’s a big thing here) and actually playing golf, this is where we can let our competitive juices run wild. We play in a couple of DFS leagues with only friends. Who doesn’t love taking his friends’ $5 week in and week out? Winning is fun. Doesn’t matter what. Hell, one of us won a Potty Putter at the office party this past Christmas. The feeling I get when I win in DFS is especially rewarding, regardless of if the payout is $3 or $30K – just want to see the screen turn green (which happens when you’re winning)!
- We like the numbers, stats, and research. The process of digging in to the course, the key stats for success, and the players that either line up or don’t each week is the best part. It’s the same reason people enjoy tracking the stock market. We dig deep every week before we record our podcast, and you can do the same or just rely on experts that you are keen to trust.
One of the things we didn’t mention above: “I like winning millions of dollars while seeing my handsome mug on the side of a DraftKings bus in downtown BeanTown.” Of course we enjoy winning. But, we’re not doing this to quit our day jobs and neither should you. We only spend what we can afford to lose – think of it as an entertainment expense. Hell, you’re more likely to lose $29 and 2 hours of your life going to see some dumpster fire movie with your wife. Is DFS gambling? Yes, unequivocally. As is playing fantasy football for free on Yahoo! while having a side pot with your homies. However, there’s nothing wrong with responsible gambling. As humans, we gamble on various and sundry things all the time. Golfers gamble. Gambling is as much a part of golf as #TourSauce and Johnny Miller’s ego.
In the intro we mentioned we’d tell you if you should stop reading this. Here you go…If you have a problem with gambling, spending too much money, or an addictive personality, then don’t play. If you literally don’t have 15 minutes a week, a positive balance in your checking account, or any friends, then don’t play.
Okay, you’re still reading? Currently, if you want to play PGA DFS, you will only be able to play through the DraftKings website or app. However, FanDuel will likely be adding PGA to its offerings in the very near future, as both companies have now merged and DraftKings continues to see tremendous growth in the number of people playing PGA DFS. Every Monday afternoon before a PGATour event, DraftKings will release the player prices for that event based on odds. Each player is given a dollar amount typically ranging from $5K to $13K.
Standard DraftKings lineup page.
Ostensibly your job is simple: fill six roster spots without spending more than $50K in salary cap. Points are earned or lost on a hole-by-hole basis, with players earn points for pars, birdies, eagles, an albatross, an ace, and conversely lose points for bogeys, etc. Players also earn points for where they stand on the leaderboard at the end of the week. If one (or more) of your players don’t make the cut then they don’t earn your team any points over the weekend. This point structure greatly rewards players who tend to make birdies and play aggressively (think modified Stableford scoring). But keep in mind that they need to hang around and play the weekend. Roll into the weekend with your full compliment of six players having made the cut and you enjoy a tremendous advantage. Amazingly, picking six golfers out of a field of 140+ is much harder in practice than it is in theory.
If PGA DFS sounds like something that you’d enjoy then get started by signing up for DraftKings and wait with bated breath for our follow-up article where we’ll outline viable strategies and highlight some guys you NEED to know to get that “Green Screen Disease” in 2017…