ST. CHARLES, Ill.—At a recent tournament, Graig Kinzler hit a golf ball into a mountain on the 15th hole of a course called Tundra Peak. With $2,000 at stake, he crossed his arms and looked as if he wanted to punch somebody.

"Was I worried? Yeah, I was worried," Mr. Kinzler said between games—held not at a country club, but on the dark second floor of a bar. "How could I not be?"

Mr....