Last year, Swedish golf set a new record in active members, a total of 561,677 players. But not everything is peaceful and joyful, according to the Golf Association.
In recent years, after the pandemic, we have seen a shift where more and more are switching to the largest clubs. The flow is too large and drains the rest of golf-Sweden. It's only us golfers who can pay for our courses, and the fewer we are who share the cake, the harder it is to keep the courses alive, says Bo Bengtsson, Deputy Secretary-General of the Association.
The problem, according to the Association, is that a few clubs have tied up a large part of the country's golfers. Mainly by offering cheap so-called green fee memberships/mailbox memberships.
"Thoughtless"
The largest is Happy Golfer, a club based in Stockholm with a total of two courses and 27 holes – and a total of 46,000 members across the country.
The Swedish Golf Association now wants to put a stop to this. In the proposal, which is to take full effect from the turn of the year if voted through, they want to limit the number of golf IDs that a club can issue. For Happy Golfer, this would mean that they can only keep around 10 percent of their current members.
It's quite thoughtless, the whole proposal, says Mattias Bohlin, CEO of Happy Golfer.
There are many who are golf-interested, but don't have a great willingness to pay. Many of these players have we managed to activate – and then it's suddenly a problem?
"Violates the Competition Act"
Happy Golfer is one of five clubs that have filed a complaint with the Competition Authority, even before the proposal has been treated by the annual meeting.
I think it violates the Competition Act, you can't do this, says lawyer Per Karlsson, who is the representative for the complaining clubs.
You can't just look at the volume (in terms of memberships) but also at the value of the memberships. Happy Golfer and Cloud/Golfstar (the two largest clubs) together account for less than one percent of the value of all memberships in the country. Then you can't, like the Golf Association, talk about an oligopoly that restricts competition.
In the proposal before the annual meeting, the Association writes that there is a high probability that golf-Sweden will lose golfers who play little in 2026 if the proposal is voted through. Yet, they are not worried about negative consequences in the long run.
We recruit 60,000-70,000 new golfers every year – why shouldn't we continue to do so? I feel that there is a great appreciation for us having finally put forward this proposal, the feeling is that we will get a large majority at the meeting, says Bo Bengtsson.
All golfers who want to play on courses affiliated with the Swedish Golf Association need a golf ID.
The Golf Association now wants to limit the number of golf IDs that a club can issue, linked to the number of holes on the course. A golf club should be able to issue 2,800 golf IDs per 18-hole course and 1,680 per 9-hole course.
The question will be decided at the Golf Association's annual meeting, where the districts' total of 75 representatives will vote. Each district has a basic vote. The remaining votes are distributed based on the number of golf clubs in each district. Skåne therefore has the most votes, a total of eight.
If the proposal is voted through, the new rules will come into force in the summer (July 1), but those who are already members of the clubs will be allowed to stay until January 1, 2026.
A complaint against the proposal has been filed with the Competition Authority. The complainants are Happy Golfer, Ekholmsnäs Golf Lidingö AB, Golfstar Sverige AB, Bryttsätter Golf AB, and the Association of Swedish Golf Course Owners, FSG.
