Golf One and Done Strategy: A Complete Guide to Win Your Pool
Golf One and Done contests continue to gain popularity as additional fantasy options hit the market. A PGA One and Done pool offers a simple, exciting way to enjoy the PGA Tour throughout the season.
We’re going to introduce this format and outline useful strategies.
Intro to What Golf One and Done Is
One and done contests are the PGA Tour’s version of NFL Survivor contests.
For these contests, contestants select a golfer each week to score points or earn prize money. In most cases, the golfer’s winnings are banked by the contestant.
At the end of the season, the contestant with the highest prize money (or points), wins the contest. Once a golfer is selected, that golfer is no longer available to contestants. Pick as many tournament winners as you can.
Simple, right?
The allure of one and done versus other sports pools is the format is much simpler. Further, entry to these contests requires a one-time fee. Entry into the contest affords players the ability to engage throughout the entire season without obsessing over betting odds.
If you enjoy the sport and want the thrill of sweating a tournament each week at low cost, a one and done contest might be the perfect fit.
Unlike NFL Survivor Pools, when contestants pick a golfer who performs poorly or is cut from a tournament, contestants are not eliminated from the contest. A bad week doesn’t necessarily mean a contestant cannot win the tournament.
Instead, that contestant will just need accrue winnings, elsewhere. The structure of the PGA Tour schedule and the prize pools in the post-LIV world make catching up very possible.
Now that we’ve defined a one-and-done pool, let’s explore helpful strategies to beat your pool competitors. And if you want to follow along by signing up for a fantasy site that offers one-and-done golf contests, be sure to register with the Splash Sports promo code.
Best One and Done Pool Strategies
With one and done pools becoming popular, it’s keen to utilize strategies to stay ahead of the competition. The following are some strategies you can use to be better prepared for your one and done contest.
Learn Your Pool Rules
First and foremost, learning the rules for your pool is imperative to success in one and done contests. Nearly all pools operate with the same concept—select a golfer and collect the winnings. Once you use a golfer, that golfer is eliminated from your player pool. However, each pool might have a unique schedule or rules that impact strategies for winning.
Schedule
When does your pool begin? Will it begin at the start of a calendar year or in the fall with other events like the Zozo Championship? When does your pool end? Many pools begin after the Sentry Tournament of Champions – the first event on the PGA Tour schedule.
Others begin with the Genesis Invitational after the Hawaii swing. Some pools include the FedEx Cup playoffs and potentially even the Tour Championship. One pool might conclude with the Wyndham Championship.
Will the alternate events require a selection? If so, events like the Puerto Rico Open, Barracuda, and Myrtle Beach Classic will require your attention. Does your pool include the Zurich Classic, a team event?
All of these questions must be answered prior to beginning the season.
Multipliers
In some PGA Golf One and Done contests, specific events come with a multiplier for winnings or points.
For instance, some contests might use a 1.5x or 2x multiplier for the majors. When events feature a multiplier, a third place finish, runner up finish, or win is significantly more valuable.
The more prominent events often feature larger prize pools. The majors, signature events, and The Players Championship all feature larger prize pools than your average event on the PGA Tour.
If the winnings for these events are multiplied, you will need to perform well these weeks to contend in your contest.
Pool Size
How many entries are in your contest? Are you playing a contest with your five work friends or are you joining one of the larger prize pool events hosted by a DFS site like Splash Sports? Note: DraftKings Sportsbook also hosts one-and-done golf pools, so consider signing up with the DraftKings promo code.
The size of the pool matters. When playing in a small field, you won’t have to take as many risks. You can play safer picks and swerve only late in the season if absolutely necessary.
Are you playing in a large field? If so, the ownership percentages for players each week are far more important.
Several betting or content sites attempt to project the ownership of pool selections each week. Some sites will even provide the sitewide ownership throughout the week.
When playing in a large field, avoiding golfers at high ownership or using low-owned plays is one way to outthink the field.
Set a Season Plan
Just as important is developing a plan for the season before your contest begins. While adjustments will be required depending on form and injuries, one must consider who they want to use throughout the season.
Some golfers tend to play well during different swings of the PGA Tour season. This is one of many keen PGA golf betting tips.
For example, Max Homa is known for strong play on the West Coast. Some perform better in Florida because of the abundance of Bermuda grass. Planning to utilize golfers where they have had success is vital to climbing the leaderboard in this format.
Also, developing a plan or at least a list of golfers that you want to save for higher-purse events is very important.
Scottie Scheffler won several events during the 2024 PGA Tour season. If you selected Scheffler when he won just over one million dollars, you are chasing all of the players that selected him when he wins at The Masters.
Finally, what is your plan for LIV golfers who only have status at the majors?
Identifying who is eligible for these events and constructing a framework for who you might consider is crucial. LIV golfers will gain traction of major events because they cannot be played elsewhere.
Planning for this could be just the edge that separates you from the rest of the leaderboard.
Analyze Your Player Picks
Next, tracking golfers’ form or performance in recent events is crucial to success in one and done pools. While the format requires less research, reviewing statistics or recent finishes on the PGA Tour will help project ownership each week and keep you aware of who has the best recent form.
Further, analyzing which picks would be advantageous is important for sustained success when making picks. Researching each week with this site or sites like PoolGenius advantage players with valuable information when making picks.
For a more more granular approach, strokes gained data is widely available to consider who will fit the week’s tournament.
A popular approach is to limit analysis and focus on win odds. Restricting your selections each week to the top eight golfers in win odds is a simple approach to moving up pool standings.
For a more in-depth approach, identifying a particular golfer in a great spot because of analysis will likely lead to better selections.
How many golfers can actually win the BMW Championship? Research and analysis will help with that question.
Know Your Purse Prize
The amount of prize money available each week is very relevant when planning which golfers to take throughout the season.
Scheffler was the betting favorite in every event he entered in 2024. Winning with Scheffler is far less important when he enters the Mexico Open than a major such as the PGA Championship.
The PGA Championship is worth significantly more money than the weekly events. To gain the most points and most money, concentrate on using the best golfers when the stakes are highest.
Even with a victory at a smaller event, you will likely lose ground if Scheffler wins one of the four majors.
The bigger purse events require the highest quality golfers. Barring major adjustments, you should plan to use superstars in the richest tournaments.
Prepare Extra For Major Tournaments
This goes hand in hand with the previous strategy. When researching your selections for a major tournament, extra preparation is required.
Not only do majors feature the larger prize pools, the tournaments often are given multipliers in most contests. A victory at a major championship will shoot you to the top of the leaderboard. Even a runner up or third place finish at a major tournament is more valuable than a victory at the Genesis Invitational.
Also, the majors are the only tournaments that LIV golfers can play if they are eligible. The added wrinkle requires additional attention. A contestant cannot use the pick strategy of saving stars like Rory McIlroy for one of the four majors. The LIV golfers won major championships in 2023 and 2024. They are also top golfers.
Finally, the major tournaments or signature events are a great place later in the season to adjust your strategy if you are behind or ahead in your pool.
Let’s shift gears to making adjustments using major championships as an example.
Be Flexible To Adjustments
Let’s say you worked through a season plan. You kept a rotating list of players on a spreadsheet that you can still use and monitor their form throughout the year.
Unfortunately, you bricked The Players Championship and The Masters. You need to make a big adjustment ahead of the FedEx Playoff events.
The great benefit to one and done contests is that they are never really over until they are over.
Most likely, you need to adjust your approach if you are behind and chasing. The only way to catch up is if you increase your prize money while your opponents stagnate. That means, you might need to start selecting golfers that you wouldn’t have considered at the start of the year.
Using the majors as an example, you might need to go off the board at The Open Championship if you are way behind.
While the field looks to take the top golfers on the betting odds board, you might need to identify a darkhorse that nobody considers for that specific tournament. If your golfer wins, you will surely gain ground on the field.
Chasing isn’t the only scenario that requires adjustments. Winning or maintaining a lead could require a change of plans. Let’s say you are in the lead with wins at multiple tournaments and there are only 4-5 other tournaments left. You check the betting odds and atop the board are players you never considered.
It might be time to play it safe and let your opponents go off board to chase. Sure, if McIlroy is still available, pick him.
However, with a lead, you should aim to make safe selections and even attempt to block your opponents. You must be able to adjust to find success in golf pools.
For more tips, see our Daily Fantasy Golf 101: Strategy Guide.
And if you’re more interested in traditional betting over fantasy sports, our guide on the Best Golf Betting Apps & Sites is for you.
Responsible Gaming Tools
As with anything involving an investment of money, responsible gambling is crucial to enjoying one-and-done pools for the long term.
You should not invest more money than can be afforded. Arranging a pool with friends all the way up to entering the largest field online pools will require an investment of money. A great benefit of participating in one and done is the fixed entry fee. Do not overextend your limits.
Final Tips for the Best Golf One and Done Strategy
One and done pools are an entertaining way to stay involved throughout the PGA Tour season. With less work to participate, entrants simply can pick one golfer each week to be a part of the action.
Effective one and done play requires a variety of strategies. Employing a plan and adjusting when necessary will help climb the leaderboard throughout the year.
In short, here is a list of strategies to consider for your season:
- Learn your pool rules and the tournaments included in your contest.
- Adjust your strategy for pool size as well as which tournaments have multipliers.
- Set a season plan.
- Analyze golfers, their recent form, and course fit.
- Prepare more for tournaments with the largest total prize purse.
- Be flexible and adjust your game plan if past picks failed and you need to catch up.
If you’re looking for more resources on fantasy golf, be sure to check out our PGA DFS page.
Golf One and Done Strategy FAQs
The following are frequently asked questions regarding one and done pool strategies.
What is the best one and done strategy?
While a variety of strategies exist for this format, the most important thing to do is develop a plan. After constructing a plan of attack, contestants must be flexible throughout the year to adjust for a variety of factors such as current position, recent form, and remaining tournament schedule.
What is golf one and done?
One and done is the PGA analogy to an NFL Survivor Pool in which contestants select one golfer each event and bank their winnings. When the season is over, the contestant with the most prize money is the winner. Once you choose a specific golfer for a given tournament, they are unavailable for the rest of the season.
How to play one and done?
Start a league or join a league on a site like Splash Sports. Sign up with the promo code from our review page, develop a plan, and make a selection every week all season long.
Can a one and done strategy help win my pool?
Various strategies can help with this format. Paying attention to news, contest rules, and other factors will only help with success in the pool. Simply picking a random golfer for each event will not work.
Best tips for golf one and done?
Develop a rough outline for which superstars you would consider for the most prestigious events. Pay attention to standings and opponents’ selections. Do not be afraid to adjust when plans change.
What are the rules for golf one and done?
Pick a player for every tournament outlined by your pool rules. After use, you cannot select the same golfer for the rest of the season. At the end of the season, the players with the most money win a portion of the total purse.