Tiger Woods' Gambling Habits Are Commonplace in Golf

by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 21, 2009 1:57 PM EST

The Times of London may have thought they had a whopper on their hands when they got some Vegas insiders to talk about Tiger Woods' gambling habits.

He bets up to $25,000 per hand of blackjack! Oh no!

Guess what? Golfers have a higher propensity to gamble than almost any kind of athlete. And it starts early. As Golfweek reported last month (and we shared), NCAA golfers are drastically more likely to gamble compared to any other sport.

It makes The Times' report of Woods' first appearances in Vegas immediately upon him leaving Stanford seems much less important. (The Times inaccurately reports that Woods first showed up in Vegas after he graduated from Stanford. He left school early, guys.) A lot of collegiate golfers do it. Gambling is a part of golf.

So, is it really all that shocking that Woods - a supposed billionaire of an athlete - has a taste for high stakes gambling? And with a pal like Chuck Barkley, who gambles like it is his job, the likelihood of Woods gambling for big bucks increases drastically.

And what about guys like John Daly or reportedly Phil Mickelson? There is a rumor out there that Mickelson made the move to Callaway because they would pay off his gambling debts. Before golf's rumor mill became fodder for celebrity rags, they were very prominent in our sport.

Sorry, but the gambling thing just is not shocking.

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And not to mention

Our very own 3irons has somewhat of a self confessed gambling habit….lol. I agree with Ryan’s assessment here, this is not a big deal at all. Millions of people like to go to Vegas and gamble, in fact it was at one point the top tourist destination in the world. And when you’re talking about “high stakes” you have to apply some scale to it; 25k per hand would be very high stakes for me, but not to a billionaire.

Roll Tide !!

by tigerhead on Dec 21, 2009 2:10 PM EST reply actions

VIVA Las Vegas

I love it. I’ll be in Vegas next month. Ryan ,I can assure you that the rumor is just that rumor. Callaway did NOT pay off Phils Gambling Debt. Phil likes the tables but pays his own tab. I’ll be playing Black Jack and a few other things , but my wagering of 50,000 a hand will be missing the last few zeros. :o)

"pain is only weakness leaving the body"

by progolf on Dec 21, 2009 2:18 PM EST reply actions

Reading the whole article puts their spin on it in a little more perspective – even they say it’s not surprising considering his wealth and circle of friends. And maybe this is “old news” to many, but it was new to me…once again showing that my perception of Tiger as a person is nothing close to what he really is (not that it’s any of my business).

I write about golf at www.tees2greens.com, too.

by red tees on Dec 21, 2009 2:45 PM EST reply actions

This IS the OFF season.

Is this what we’ve come to? I feel like i went to sleep and woke up in the twilight zone. Man i’ll be ecstatic, when Golf returns. I mean this is Rod Serling esque. Vegas, The Rat Pack would be proud of Tiger’s exploits. Just sayin………..

by Fairways and Grins on Dec 21, 2009 5:22 PM EST reply actions

STARE STRAIGHT AHEAD

WELL, the other stuff seems to be winding down, so I guess this is as good a thing as any to write about….There has been gambling in one form or another, since biblical times, so what is going to change now…And tell me it isn’t true….not our 3irns…maybe he lost, and that’s why he’s a mite short tempered at times
Jumpin….your being a cheapie…go for it man.
F&G…who says you’ve woken up?
I learned years ago, to go and people watch, and leave the gambling to those with loot…STUB

by thinker on Dec 22, 2009 11:32 PM EST reply actions