Never before have Swedes played so much golf. In the pandemic year, the Nordic country breaks the record for rounds, with a total of more than 11 million and an average of 23 per player, and increases by 11.2% the number of golfers compared to 2019. Incredible but true. We tell you about the miracle of Swedish golf in 2020.
In the first year of Covid-19 , Swedish golf once again surpassed the barrier of half a million federated golfers, something that had not happened for a decade. And it achieved it also experiencing an incredible increase in players compared to 2019: no less than 11.2%, from 484,514 to 538,962 golfers, that is, 54,448 more. That figure is close to the record number of licenses registered in one year in Sweden: 554,293 in 2004.
Overall, Swedes played more than 11.6 million rounds last year on the nearly half a thousand golf courses in the Nordic country, giving an average of 23.1 rounds per player. Never before have Swedes played so much golf in their country. In fact, 2020 was the first year to exceed 11 million rounds during a season. Approximately eight million were club member tee times and the rest were green fee rounds.
These figures represent a 42% increase over 2019; in numerical terms, almost 3.5 million more rounds! In 2020, Swedish golfers booked and played 3,464,416 more rounds than the previous year, when a total of 8.2 million were played. Partner rounds increased by 51% and guest play increased by 33%.
This surprising increase in golf in Sweden during 2020 could be due to a combination of factors such as the good weather, the early start of the season (generally between May and October) and the fact that golf is a healthy leisure activity in times of the pandemic, when on the other hand people did not travel abroad as usual to play golf during the autumn and winter. And we must also take into account the great offer and variety of existing courses in the country, with some created by prestigious designers, such as Robert Trent Jones II, Jack Nicklaus and Kyle Phillips. The splendorous nature of the country makes playing golf in Sweden not only a sporting delight but also an aesthetic one, as the golf courses are immersed in beautiful scenic surroundings.
In terms of the increase in federated players, the largest increase occurred in 2020 in the age segment between 1 and 21 years old, with an increase of 34.7% to a total of 61,839, 15,914 more than in 2019. This segment of children and young people up to 21 years of age accounts for 11.5% of the total number of registered Swedish golfers. In terms of gender division, 73.4% of the total number of Swedish players are men (and boys) and 26.3% are women (and girls). The latter total 141,730, i.e. 11,980 compared to 2019 (an increase of 9.2%). The number of male players increased even more (by 12%).
In contrast to the increase in rounds played and active golfers, the number of courses decreased slightly in 2020, losing six from the previous year to a total of 448, of which 405 were clubs or non-profit associations.
In terms of geographic areas or districts, the one with the largest increase in golfers in 2020 was Stockholm, with 26,393 new registrants, 48% of the total increase in Sweden last year. Other districts (21 nationwide) increased by between 300 to 5,700 golfers, except Östergötland, which decreased slightly.
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IN SHORT
– The Swedish golf club with the most members in 2020 was Ekholmsnäs Golf, with 22,934 members, followed by Cloud Golf Club (17,703) and Bryttsätter Golfklubb (13,172). The average number of members per club in Sweden is 1,203, an increase of 136 members per club compared to 2019.
– The average age of the Swedish golfer is 48.6 years, which is a ‘rejuvenation’ of 1.5 years compared to 2019, due among other things to the fact that the 22-30 age group was large among new golfers. The largest age group of Swedish golfers is 51 to 60 years.
– The average handicap of Swedish golfers in 2020 was 25.1, increasing by 0.9 compared to 2019, although this increase is not fully comparable due to the introduction of the new handicap system and the addition of so many new golfers.
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