Every April, millions of golf fans fill out their Masters pool picks in hopes of winning it all—but most see their entries unravel before the back nine on Sunday even begins.
So what separates the winners from the majority? How do you make winning Masters pool picks? It’s not watching every tournament or knowing each player’s Strokes Gained stats. And no, you don’t need to memorize the entire Masters field for 2025. Instead, it’s about strategy, probability, and knowing how to play your specific pool the right way.
To help boost your chances of scoring big in golf pools, Sporting News is teaming up with PoolGenius, whose data-driven pool picks and tools have helped subscribers win pools at more than three times the expected rate.
The good news? You don’t need to be a golf expert to make smarter Masters pool picks. These five proven strategies will give you a better shot at winning your Masters pool this year.
Masters pool expert picks for 2025
Before we dive into strategy tips, here’s the shortcut: if you’d rather skip the research but still want the best possible Masters picks, PoolGenius has you covered.
With just a few clicks, you can get expert 2025 Masters pool picks tailored to your pool’s size and scoring system—completely skipping the guesswork.
Plus, you’ll have access to detailed projections, pick popularity numbers, and key data insights to make every selection count.
EXPERT PICKS: Masters Pool Picks from PoolGenius
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Tip 1: Understand your pool’s scoring system
The most overlooked aspect of Masters pick strategy is how your pool’s scoring system should influence your picks. Different scoring systems reward different strategies.
If your pool awards points based on prize money or final placement, you want golfers with legitimate win equity or top-10 potential—even if they’re slightly more volatile.
MORE: Everything to know about how to score Masters tickets
However, consistency becomes more valuable than the ceiling if your pool heavily penalizes missed cuts or uses a pure stroke-based system. In these formats, steady golfers who reliably make the weekend should be prioritized.
Some pools also allow you to throw out your worst picks. This creates opportunities to take calculated risks since one bad selection won’t sink your entire entry.
Key Takeaway: Check your pool’s scoring rules before making a single pick. Your strategy should be entirely different for cut-penalty pools versus prize money scoring. Depending on your scoring format, floors vs. ceilings should absolutely factor into your picks.
Tip 2: Adjust strategy based on pool size
The number of entries in your Masters pool should impact the risk level of your selections.
A more conservative approach often works best in smaller pools (fewer than 50 entries). When you only need to beat a handful of people, picking several reasonable favorites and avoiding too many risky underdogs is typically the winning formula.
For medium-sized pools (50-200 entries), you’ll need a few carefully chosen value picks to differentiate your entry while maintaining a strong core of reliable golfers.
In large pools (200+ entries), you’ll need to make more contrarian picks to stand out. This might mean avoiding an overvalued popular pick in the top tier or selecting a surprise performer in the middle tiers that few others are taking (but still has reasonable chances).
Key Takeaway: The bigger your pool, the more calculated risks you should take. Small pools reward consistency, while larger pools reward those who make smart leverage picks.
Tip 3: Factor in public pick popularity
The goal isn’t to pick the most successful golfers—it’s to score more points than everyone else in your pool. This means you need to find spots where the public overvalues or undervalues certain players.
For example, if the betting favorite is picked in the top tier by 40% of entries, but his actual odds of winning are closer to 15%, you might gain an edge by selecting a different golfer.
On the other hand, if a strong player in that same tier is selected in only 10% of entries, but their chances of a top finish are closer to 12%, that’s a nice leverage opportunity to gain points on the field.
Key Takeaway: Picking the most likely outcome isn’t always the best strategy. Look for golfers who are either over-picked or under-picked relative to their actual chances.
Tip 4: Use betting odds to capture the full picture
One of the most effective ways to evaluate golfers in your Masters pool is to lean on betting odds—because they already account for everything you’re trying to factor in: course history, current form, strokes gained data, expert sentiment, and more.
Instead of isolating stats like past performance at Augusta or recent finishes, betting markets synthesize all relevant variables into a single number. Odds to win, finish top 5, top 10, top 20, or even make the cut offer different angles to evaluate players—each with strategic value depending on your pool’s scoring system.
For example:
- If your pool rewards finishing position, top-5 or top-10 odds might be most useful.
- If avoiding missed cuts is critical, look at make-the-cut odds for consistency.
- If you’re torn between two golfers, head-to-head matchup odds can offer a clear signal about which player is more likely to outperform the other.
Key Takeaway: Betting odds are a smart way to evaluate players because they blend course history, current form, and advanced analytics into one signal. Choose the odds that align with your scoring system—and use them to understand the baseline value.
Tip 5: Optimize your tier selections
In most tier-based Masters pools, you’re required to pick one golfer from each predefined group. How you allocate risk across these tiers can make or break your entry.
In the top tiers containing the favorites, you’ll generally want more reliable selections—but consider fading extremely popular picks in favor of comparable alternatives with lower ownership.
Middle tiers often provide the greatest opportunity for differentiation. This is where finding an undervalued player can separate your entry from the pack.
Lower tiers might seem less important, but they’re often where pools are won and lost. Many participants consider these afterthoughts, but a strategic pick here can provide huge leverage if they outperform expectations.
Key Takeaway: Focus on finding the right balance of chalk and contrarian picks across all tiers. Don’t neglect the bottom tiers—they often determine the winners.
Get the smartest Masters pool picks (backed by data)
Filling out a Masters pool entry is fun—winning one is even better. However, an optimal strategy requires deep analysis, time, and data that most players don’t have. That’s why PoolGenius does the heavy lifting for you.
The PoolGenius Masters Pool Picks tool delivers:
- Optimized selections tailored to your pool’s rules
- Pick popularity data to find overvalued and undervalued golfers (the secret sauce)
- Advanced analytics on performance odds, Augusta National history, and current form
- Multiple lineup options for playing different strategies
With expert research and advanced simulations put into these tools, PoolGenius gives you the best shot at stacking the odds in your favor.
EXPERT PICKS: Masters Pool Picks from PoolGenius
FREE ACCESS: Discounts for Sporting News readers
