We have completed our five month trial of Golf Forecast and here are the final results (i.e. for the diversified algorithm):-

 

Profit/Loss:	+713 points profit
Strike Rate:	10%
Bank Growth:	71%
ROI:	23%
Average number of bets:	20 bets per tournament
Cost:	£2.99 for first 7 days then £29.99 per month
VERDICT:	PASSED
Rating:

 

You can view full results here. (please note you can see the results for the two approaches plus the past results in the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet)

 

Golf Forecast – Full Review

 

We originally reviewed golf betting system Golf Forecast around five years ago, when it received a passed rating after notching up an impressive 172 points profit in that original trial. 

Golf Forecast is a little different from most golf services as it is not a “tipster” as such but instead finds its selections via an algorithm. This algorithm is based on the Shotlink data that compiles a huge array of stats on each player and the strengths and weaknesses of their game.

Where the bookies’ odds are significantly above what the algorithm says they should be based on that data, the player then becomes a bet.  

The algorithm also apparently uses machine learning to update itself and improve in light of new data.

After our original review of Golf Forecast finished in 2016, we kept an eye on the service for the next few years, during which time it continued to compile impressive profits. So we initiated a re-review back in November 2019, wanting to take a closer look at the results again as it seemed to be performing consistently well. 

Unfortunately though it struggled somewhat in that re-review, losing 280 points. Such are the ups-and-downs of traditional golf betting unfortunately. 

However, they then introduced a new approach – namely their “diversified algorithm.”

This idea behind this is to spread your risk across more golfers, backing around 20 players per tournament rather than the traditional approach of backing 4-5 golfers per event. 

Anyone who has bet on golf or followed a golf tipster for any length of time will be accustomed to the huge swings you can experience, with long losing runs followed by a big winner – if you’re lucky that is. It can be tough on the nerves and require a lot of patience, as well as a massive betting bank, to weather the lengthy drawdowns. 

The aim of this new “diversified model” is to smooth out those peaks and troughs and provide more regular returns. 

Here they explain the difference between their two models:-

In theory you might think the diversified model is more risky as you are backing more golfers, but if you are spreading your stake across them in such a way that you are actually betting the same amount as you would when backing just five golfers, then in fact it is less risky and should smooth out the ride.

For example, if you are risking £100 per tournament you spread this across 20 golfers, meaning on a few of them you are just risking £5-6 each. This is the staking used in our results spreadsheet. 

This smoother ride is borne out by the long-term results, which as you can see from the graph below shows a pretty smooth profit graph, without the big ups and downs normally associated with golf betting:-

 

Anyway, we commenced a fresh review at the start of this year looking at both the new diversified algorithm and the old approach – dubbed the “ROI algorithm.” 

In truth we were more interested in how the diversified algorithm got on as it is a new, innovative approach to gambling on the golf and we were eager to see if it really could smooth out the big ups and downs you normally get with golf betting.

We are pleased to say that after five months of following it, the diversified algorithm did as advertised and produced a very healthy – and steady – 713 points profit. 

If following the £100 per tournament approach, that translated into a decent £713 profit and bank growth of over 70%.

Whilst the strike rate was still on the low side at 10%, the ride was much smoother and less bumpy. The ROI was also excellent at 23%. 

So in terms of the diversified algorithm, we are happy to award it a PASSED rating and we really like this new, more measured approach to golf betting that is less of a roller-coaster. 

In terms of the traditional ROI model, unfortunately that did not perform so well and lost 711 points, which on top of the 280 points lost the previous year, means quite a hefty overall loss so it is not a strategy we would recommend following.  

 

Service Breakdown

Ease of use: As mentioned above, there are around 20 bets to place per tournament, so you have to set aside a fair amount of time to get the selections placed. You can either have the bets e-mailed to you or log in to the website to get them.  

Availability of prices: We didn’t notice any particular issues with obtaining the recommended prices. 

Strike rate: The strike rate for our trial was 10%, which is obviously low but it didn’t prevent a steady return during our trial. The long-term average is to produce a profit in every 2-3 events and in our trial there weren’t too many tournaments without a return of some kind at least. 

Advised Betting Bank: In effect a 100 point bank betting bank is recommended for the diversified algorithm (or £1000 if betting £100 per tournament), which seems reasonable to us although a 150 point bank could be utilised to be on the safe side. 

Subscription costs: The subscription costs at the time of writing are £2.99 for first 7 days then £29.99 per month.

 

OVERALL VERDICT: PASSED

Golf Forecast is a service we originally reviewed back in 2016 and gave a passed rating to after a successful trial. We took another look at the service more recently but unfortunately it made a substantial loss in that trial.

Recently though they have introduced a new strategy – called the “diversified algorithm” – which involves backing around 20 golfers per event and aims to smooth out the big ups and downs you normally see with golf betting.

We are pleased to report that it managed to achieve that aim during our trial, notching up 713 points profit over the course of five months at an excellent ROI of 23% and warranting a PASSED rating. 

Their more traditional approach of backing 4-5 golfers per event made a loss though so we would recommend focusing on the diversified algorithm if you are going to follow this service. 

That diversified strategy looks very promising to us as a means to smooth out the roller-coaster ride of golf betting and make it a much smoother and more enjoyable journey!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

16th April 2021

It’s continued to be a mixed picture for Golf Forecast, with their diversified model having made £224 profit but the ROI model having lost £467 since our last update.

That means the diversified model is now £534 up but the ROI model is £617 down for our trial overall, so a net return of -£83.

You can view full results here. (please note you can see the results for the two approaches plus the past results in the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet)

Just to recap – the  diversified model means spreading the risk across more golfers, backing around 20 players per tournament where as the ROI model means backing 4-5 golfers per event.

The aim of the diversified model is to smooth out the ups and downs of golf betting and it certainly seems to be doing that here, with steady progress made throughout our trial so far. That is looking like the model to follow at this point.

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

8th March 2021

It’s been somewhat of a mixed month for Golf Forecast, with their diversified model having made 14 points profit (or £140 to £10 stakes) but the ROI model having lost 39 points (or £390 to £10 stakes) since our last update.

That means the diversified model is now 31 points up but the ROI model is 15 points down for our trial overall, so a net return of +16 points.

You can view full results here. (please note you can see the results for the two approaches plus the past results in the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet)

Just to recap – the  diversified model means spreading the risk across more golfers, backing around 20 players per tournament where as the ROI model means backing 4-5 golfers per event.

In theory you might think the diversified model is more risky as you are backing more golfers, but if you are spreading your stake across them in such a way that you are actually betting the same amount as you would backing just five golfers, then in fact is is less risky and should smooth out the ride.

We are seeing that play out already in our review and would expect it to be the case over the long term too.

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

1st February 2021

We are having something of a reboot of our review of Golf Forecast in 2021. 

As you may recall, they didn’t perform too well during our trial last year losing 280 points, after having an excellent original trial back in 2016 when they made 172 points.

Such are the ups and downs of golf betting and having long losing runs followed by massive wins (or vice versa) are par for the course, if you’ll excuse the pun.

To counter this they have developed a new “diversified algorithm” which in layman’s terms means backing around 20 golfers per tournament rather than five. 

The idea is to spread your stakes across a greater number of golfers to reduce the risk and produce a more consistent return.

At the same time they will still be running their previous model of backing 4-5 golfers per event – this is referred to as their “ROI algorithm” but is higher risk as we say and is more likely to have those big ups and downs.

There is a fuller explanation of the two approaches here:

So we are going to cover both approaches in 2021 and compare how they get on.

So far this year the results have been good for both, with the diversified model having made 17.5 points profit (or £174.70 to £10 stakes) and the ROI model making 24 points profit (or £241 to £10 stakes).

You can view full results here. (please note you can see the results for the two approaches plus the past results in the tabs at the bottom of the spreadsheet)

The main source of profits has been Harris English who won for both approaches at 30/1 and Kevin Na who won for the diversified approach at 60/1. 

It will be interesting to see how that approach gets on and if it can smooth out some of the big swings normally seen with golf services.

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

21st October 2020

It’s been a tough time for Golf Forecast lately, with a loss of 67 points made since our last update a month ago. 

That means they are now 280 points down for our trial overall. 

You can view full results here.

They also have a separate strategy known as the “diversifying algorithm” (nothing to do with spread betting as we previously thought) which backs a lot more golfers each week (e.g. 15-20 per tournament). The idea is to reduce risk and smooth the curve as it were. We have been keeping an eye on that strategy and since it was introduced in mid-September it has made around 90 points profit, so quite a lot better than the main strategy. 

Hopefully the main strategy can get back on track again soon – a big winner would certainly help! 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

21st October 2020

A bit of an improvement recently for Golf Forecast, with a profit of 21 points made since our last update a month ago.

With the previous losses however they are still 213 points down for our trial overall. 

You can view full results here.

We mentioned last time their new spread betting algorithm, which uses spread betting prices to help guide selections, but you still bet in the fixed odds markets with the bookies. Well the spread betting algorithm managed to pick out both winners last week – Jason Kokrak at 100/1 and Adrian Otaegui at 66/1, so seems to be working well. Although it does involve backing 15-20 players per tournament so is obviously more likely to pick out winners than backing 5-6 players per tournament.

Anyway, we will try to have a look at getting the results together for the spread betting algorithm and hopefully including those in future updates.

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

18th September 2020

The tough times continue for Golf Forecast unfortunately, with a further 71 points lost since our last update a month ago. 

That means they are now 234 points down for our trial overall. 

You can view full results here.

As we mentioned last time, it is worth bearing in mind that this service uses very high staking, with up to 14 points (7pts e/w) per bet recommended. So it looks a lot worse than if they were using 1 point e/w stakes for example. 

Interestingly they have introduced a new “spread betting algorithm,” which as we understand it uses spread betting prices to help guide the algorithm, but you still bet in the fixed odds markets with the bookies.

The spread betting model has apparently produced a much smoother profit with less volatility though, which would be welcome, but involves backing a lot more players each week. We will keep an eye on that to see how it gets on anyway. 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

16th August 2020

It’s been somewhat of a disastrous run for Golf Forecast recently, with 205 points lost since our last update just over a month ago. 

That means they are now 163 points down for our trial overall.

You can view full results here.

One of the reasons for the large drawdown lately is the high staking used, with up to 14 points (7pts e/w) per bet recommended. So it can really add up quickly when you hit a losing run.

As we always say with golf services however, just one winner can turn everything around when you are tipping at odds of up to 150/1. So let’s just hope they hit one of those soon. 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

12th July 2020

A small profit for Golf Forecast since our last update, with a gain of 5 points made since golf resumed on the PGA Tour following the covid break. 

That means they are now 42 points up for our trial overall.

You can view full results here.

They were quite unlucky with one of the their picks for the RBC Heritage, Abraham Ancer, who came up just short at 60/1 after Webb Simpson finished with a rash of birdies to deny him the title. That still resulted in a placed finish though and a nice profit of 33 points on Ancer. 

With golf back in full swing now (if you’ll excuse the pun) and the European Tour back in action again it should be full steam ahead for the next few months. 

 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

20th March 2020

It’s been a positive start to our re-review of Golf Forecast, with a profit of 37 points made so far after just over one month of following the selections. 

You can view full results here.

There is a slight difference between our results and their published results as they had Lee Westwood placed at the Honda Classic where as we did not. The reason for that is the forecast table, and thus the tips, can be recalculated up until midnight on Wednesday. However, they send the tips email out on Tuesday morning. As such it’s possible that the bookies’ odds move and so their algorithm’s tips could change in that time. i.e. one of the previously tipped player’s odds shortened and Lee’s odd’s drifted, therefore Lee was better value. 

We will stick with the tips we receive in the e-mail on Tuesday as our official results, although if you are member you are of course able to keep checking up until midnight on Wednesday to see if there are any further selections.

Anyway, either way it’s been a good start and the highlight was definitely Sungjae Im at the Honda Classic who they had a maximum five point each-way bet on at 33/1, which brought in 180 points profit. 

Obviously now with the coronavirus golf is on hold for the time being and it looks like we may not get any more events until July. The Masters and PGA Championship have been postponed and no decision has been taken on the US Open yet, so let’s keep our fingers crossed that can go ahead at least. 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Re-Review

21st November 2019

Just over three years ago we did a review of a golf betting service called Golf Forecast (see below).

This service is a little different from most golf services however as it is not a “tipster” as such but instead finds its selections via an algorithm. This algorithm is based on the Shotlink data that compiles a huge array of stats on each player and the strengths and weaknesses of their game.

Where the bookies’ odds are significantly above what the algorithm shows they should be based on that data, the player then becomes a bet.  

The algorithm also apparently uses machine learning to update itself and improve in light of new data.

The results during our original review back in 2016 were excellent, with a profit of 172 points made during our seven month trial. 

Since then they have apparently also done extremely well, with over 700 points profit made at an ROI of over 35% – although we weren’t able to fully proof those results.

So we thought it would be well worth checking out the service again and seeing if it can continue the excellent results under a live trial – when we do proof the results.

As ever with golf services, beware the potential of long losing streaks as there was a drawdown of around 400 points in 2018-2019, so clearly a very big bank is required here (perhaps 1,000 points). 

However, when the winners come along they can be massive, with 100/1+ winners having been landed before.

Let’s hope for more of the latter rather than the former during our re-review in any event. We will record results here periodically during our re-review.

In the meantime you can check out Golf Forecast for yourself here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Final Review

21st November 2016

We have reached the end of our seven month trial of Golf Forecast and here are the final results:

 

Profit/loss:	+172 points
Strike Rate:	12%
Bank Growth:	57%
Cost:	£1.99/month, £6.99/year or £22.99/lifetime
ROI:	102%
Average number of tips:	3 per week
VERDICT:	PASSED
Rating:

 

You can view full results here.

 

Golf Forecast Full Review

 

Golf Forecast is a service that uses a complex algorithm to generate each-way selections for each week’s tournaments. 

Their approach is an interesting one – basically they say that “no one really knows who is going to win any golf tournament.” What they can do though, using their algorithm, is find selections who offer value for the punter.

The algorithm is based on the Shotlink data that compiles a huge array of stats on each player and the strengths and weaknesses of their game. It then apparently uses machine learning to update itself and improve in light of new data.

We have written before on this website that we strongly believe computing power will be the future of betting and will become more and more sophisticated in the coming years.

So the question is, how well did the system work during our trial?

The answer is – pretty darn well!

Yes, we made 172 points profit during the trial, which was an astonishing 102% return on investment!

That is the highest we have ever recorded over a whole trial.

Now it is worth pointing out, as is nearly always the case with golf tipsters, that the results fluctuate wildly based on just one or two big priced winners.

For example, Thorbjorn Olesen winning the Turkish Open at 150/1 brought in a massive 188 points of profit. Without add, the trial would have actually finished in a loss. 

Here are the results for the trial in graph format:

Things were bobbing along fairly steadily for most of the trial before a massive jump at the end.

As we say though, that is the way of things with golf betting – long losing streaks followed by big wins (hopefully!)

The only disappointing thing about the trial was that we had problems generating the selections early on in the trial (something wrong with the website apparently) and then later on there were problems accessing the website at all because the security certificate wasn’t up to date.

It is a shame there were those problems as the results were so good, no doubt people have been put off by those issues.

But presuming these technical issues can be ironed out, we are happy to give Golf Forecast a recommended rating and think there are definitely on to something with their algorithm-based approach. We feel it also warrants a place in our list of the best golf tipsters. 

 

Service Breakdown

Ease of use: You have to log in to the website to find the selections and it can be a little cumbersome as you often need to click on the “forecasts” first before you click on the tips. Anyway, with only one to two tournaments per week, it is a pretty low workload overall. 

Availability of prices: They don’t actually quote prices as such, but we recorded the best price available from the main bookmakers on Oddschecker on a Wednesday. 

Strike rate: The strike rate for the trial was 12%, which is pretty standard for golf and means you will need a large betting bank and quite a bit of patience when following the service. 

Advised Betting Bank: There was no betting bank advised, but we used a 300 point bank, which was never in danger during the trial. 

Subscription costs: Subscription costs are an incredibly low £1.99/month, £6.99/year or £22.99/lifetime.

 

OVERALL VERDICT: PASSED

Golf Forecast is an innovative betting service that uses an algorithm to generate selections.

It performed very well during our extended seven month trial, generating over 170 points profit at a return on investment of over 100%.

There were a couple of technical issues with the website which was a shame as otherwise this looks to be a high quality service.

Certainly when you bear in mind how cheap it is at just £22.99 for a lifetime subscription, then there is a lot to like about Golf Forecast. 

Presuming the technical issues have been ironed out, we are happy to give it a recommended rating and will watch its progress with interest. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

6th November 2016

The Golf Forecast website is still having problems with its security certificate, which is a shame because if you had been able to access their tips then you would have landed at 150/1 winner today in the shape of Thorbjorn Olesen at the Turkish Airlines Open.

That takes them to 173 points up for our trial overall.

You can view full results here.

This shows once again in golf betting how one winner can make such a huge difference.

We hope that they do sort out their security certificate soon so that the website is readily accessible as it seems like they have a decent betting service here. 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

7th October 2016

We have had some problems accessing the Golf Forecast website over the last couple of months due to a security certificate issue.

Therefore we have not been able to record all of their selections.

However, the selections we have recorded unfortunately made a loss of 24 points, taking them to 8 points up overall for the trial.

You can view full results here.

Let’s hope the issues can be sorted out as there have been a few problems with the website since our trial started.

Back soon with more updates.

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

17th August 2016

Things have moved on steadily for Golf Forecast, who have made 24 points profit since our last update to sit at 32 points in profit for the trial overall.

You can view full results here.

They had a good winner in the shape of Henrik Stenson at the BMW International Open at 10/1 and a good place finish on Ben Martin last week at the John Deere Classic at 125/1.

The only problem we have had so far is that the website does not always update to show you the week’s tips.

That may be because there aren’t any or may be because the system isn’t working properly, but it would be good to know either way and it might be an idea for them to supply the tips by e-mail in future to avoid such issues.

 

 

 

 

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Golf Forecast – Results Update

26th June 2016

It has been a solid start to our trial of Golf Forecast, a golf tipping service providing selections each week on both the PGA and European Tours.

So far after two months they are 7.5 points in profit.

You can view full results here.

As is normally the case with golf betting, you often go a long time without a winner and need a lot of patience during these periods.

This has been the case here and although we haven’t had a winner yet, we have had a few good placed finishes, most notably Ken Duke at the Players Championship at 50/1 for the place (200/1 for the win).

There were unfortunately some teething problems with the website and some weeks we had trouble finding the tips for the tournaments, but thankfully these issues appear to have been sorted now.

Hopefully we will hit a winner soon, but in the meantime they have done well to be in profit so far.

Back soon with more updates.

 

 

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Golf Forecast – New Review

18th April 2016

With the golf season getting into full flow, we recently started a new trial of a golf tipster in the form of Golf Betting Expert.

So we are pleased to have come across another golf tipster of promise to put under the spotlight of a review here at Honest Betting Reviews.

The tipster in question is called Golf Forecast and is a relatively new kid on the block. 

It might be more accurate to describe this as a golf tipping system and stats package rather than just a tipster.

Firstly they have a tips section which highlights a small number of tips that have potential for high profit bets yet with a strong chance of winning. 

Secondly they have a separate section that provides statistics for the main golf tournaments so people can use our data to make their own decisions.

There is also info on the World Golf Rankings and the week’s tournaments.

Things seem to have been good recently with one of their tips for the Masters being Danny Willett.

That was before our trial started of course so can’t be included in our results.

But still, shows some potential.

So without further ado we will kick off our trial of Golf Forecast and will be back soon with our first update on how things are going.