ARIZONA FEATURE

Is Golf A Gambling
Game? You Bet It Is.

by Tommy Acosta

January 15, 1999
Do lively betting games go on at Arizona's numerous golf courses? You bet they do, and the action is hot and heavy for those who know where to look and who to ask, according to Golf Professional Thom Powell, a battle scarred veteran of many friendly betting games across the country

"There is always a golf course in every town that knows where all the money is," Powell said. "They know where the big and small money games are and when they are happening. If you ask a head pro discreetly you will get a discreet answer. Let's put it this way, there are three people in the world who know everything about you and everything you need to know. They are your barber, your bartender and your golf pro."

His face tanned and weathered from countless hours teaching and playing on the links, Powell looks every inch the golf professional that he is. His confident and cool steady manner are what one would expect of an individual who has played more than his share of money games.

"There is action everywhere," Powell said. "I can tell you that at least 95 percent of regular golfers make some kind of wager and if you want to know who won what or who lost how much just go to your local golf bar hangouts and you will get the complete lowdown. Try "Dukes" in South Scottsdale if you want to know where the real action is."

Powell lived most of his life in New Mexico. His wife Julie and his 14 year old daughter Lauren still live in Albuquerque. He spent five months in California where he played one course where the bets ranged anywhere from "$10 to $10,000 "depending on how much you want to play for". "You go there and tell the head pro how much you want to gamble and he will set you up with a fousome who can handle it," Powell said. He's been playing golf for 25 years and became "obsessed" with the game at the age of 13. He has played numerous mini-tours and is a current member of the PGA, teaching at the Family Golf Center of Mesa.

His knowledge of the different types of betting games is profound and he explained some of them in great detail.

"The most common game people play is called Skins," Powell said. "It's played between foursomes and the bets are made hole-by-hole. You can vary the amount of money bet on each hole and the lowest score for the hole wins. If two players tie for the low score then you play Two Tie All Tie which means the bet is carried over to the next hole. If the bet was ten dollars on the first hole and two people tied for the low score, the next hole's bet is worth twenty dollars. The bet is carried over until there is a winner and then you start over."

Powell said that the bets are progressive and if no one wins the holes and the bets carry on and on that's when you get into "the high rent district".

"The thing about Skins is that you don't want to get skinned," Powell said. "You make a skin you make a bunch. I know people who play from $100 to $500 on each hole. It depends on the people you are playing with."

The next game Powell explained is called "A Penny A Yard".

"Basically, you play the game for a penny a yard. If the hole is 400 yards long the bet is four dollars. If you play this game for a penny a yard you can only lose $69 if the course is 6900 yards," Powell said. "Some people play for quite a bit more than that. The bets are made hole by hole like in Skins. Best score wins the hole. The Two Tie All Tie rule is also in effect. I once won a 14 hole carry-over one day. What you win depends on how long the hole is. The key is to win as many long holes as you can."

The most popular game most betting golfers like to play, according to Powell, is called the Straight Nassau Bet.

A certain amount is bet on who wins the front nine holes, the back nine hole and the 18th hole, so there is a total of three bets initially placed. The potential for getting into the "High Rent District", as Powell puts it is very much there due to a rule called Two Down Automatic Press, which means that every time someone wins two holes in a row another bet it placed on top of the ones which have already been placed. By the time the betters reach the 18th hole the amount of money at stake can be astronomical.

Another betting term used by Powell is a "Wheel" which describes the way bets are made when there is a fivesome. Here, two players will bet against all possible combinations of two players from the three players playing. So if the three odd players are named Marty, Roger and Igor, the twosome would play against Marty and Roger's score, Marty and Igor's score, Igor and Roger's score, etc., whichever combination is the best.

When asked if he had ever ran into a bet that was to hot for him to handle, Powell offered an interesting story.

"If all golfers were honest there would be no such thing as handicaps," Powell said. "People who lie about there handicaps are called sandbaggers. Some of them are known to the local course and some are not. These are people who misrepresent their skills. They come in with a handicap and then they go and shoot a 72. A handicap are extra strokes given to less skilled golfers to make the game more even when they play more experienced golfers. They are hustlers.

"There was this one time when I played against this one fellow whom I thought I could beat easily and took him for a lot of money. I won $400 on Thursday. I got him for $600 on Friday and took another $1,100 from him on Saturday.

"He comes back on Sunday and he asks me if I have a choking point. I told him no and he pulls out a wad of bills big enough to choke a horse. I choked. It was 66 degrees and my shirt was soaked. We played. He got all his money back and all of my money too. Here was a classic case of a hustler being hustled."

Powell described what its like when putting on the last hole for a lot of money.

"I had played real tight game," Powell said. I was hitting the ball real well. On the 18th hole I found myself facing a 15 foot putt that if I made would win me $5,700. I started "gagging". Instead of thinking about the game I was thinking about the money. I started sweating. I felt like I was in slow motion. There was dead silence. Everyone was waiting to see what would happen. It was a miracle I was able to bring the club back to putt. I was gagging big time. It was a moment in time when the entire world seemed to stand still. It seemed like it took an eternity for the ball to roll the fifteen feet. When the ball went in, that's when I started shaking." That's the story. So if you ever run into Thom Powell just ask him where the best betting game in town is that day. He is bound to know. You can bet on it.