Last week, a new membership record was set in Golfsverige. The number of active golf players was 531,453 on August 1, according to the Swedish Golf Association, an increase of one percent compared to 2024. The influx is strongest among juniors, where boy juniors have increased by 21.8 percent compared to the same week in 2024. But the increased popularity has not been completely painless.
In trade press several club managers in the country have testified to "theft and vandalism", simply people who go to a golf course and do not pay for themselves, or who hit tufts of grass and do not repair the damage.
"Behave"
There are other ways into golf now, many are inspired by what they have seen on social media. And that's good. But you don't always know how to behave on the course, says Michael Sonefors, club manager at Bollnäs Golf Club.
He emphasizes, however, that it's not just possible to point out young people as the root of destroyed courses:
There are too many lazy experienced golfers who forget to fix it too. Or simply don't care, he says.
Generation gap?
The picture of a sport in change is confirmed by Annica Lundström, head of club and facility development at the Swedish Golf Association:
We have seen the influx since the pandemic. And of course, it can become a challenge in the meeting between generations. This is a cultural issue, she says and continues:
We need to welcome the new golfers and further educate them, it's clear that you're not fully trained just because you've taken a green card.
Digital reality
Just the question of the digital green card, and whether it is now too easy to get approved and come out and play on the courses, characterizes the debate, according to Lundström.
There is frustration in many places. We have not had this influx for many years, but rather hunted for new golfers. Suddenly they come to us, she says and continues:
Many clubs lack routines for a good introduction and organization to keep up with course maintenance when the playing pressure is so hard, then it's easy to get frustrated.
Lundström emphasizes that "joint forces" are required to not lose the new golfers who have found their way to the sport.
We must not scare away the younger generation, she says.
In 2024, the Swedish Golf Association set a membership record, but as early as week 32 in 2025, the record has been broken. The number of active golf players on August 1 was 531,453.
The proportion of juniors is up to 15.5 percent, the highest figure since 2003. Those born between 1997-2012 make up 22.3 percent of all active golf players in the country.
The number of boy juniors has increased by 21.8 percent compared to the same week (32) last year. The number of girl juniors has increased by 7.5 percent so far this year.
