A Typical Day at the Golf Course
Mr. Average Joe American Golfer routinely gets together with his buddies for a Saturday round of golf. He and his friends are not members of any specific club, so they play at a variety of municipal and privately–owned “pay and play” courses in the area. Joe takes the lead in booking a tee time around 9 a.m. Each player pays $50 for greens fees for 18 holes of golf and another $15 for a golf cart, plus $10 for the sandwich or hot dog, coke or beer that they might buy at the course. Often, they’ll also have a beer or two after the round at the club’s “19th hole” bar. The guys in the foursome will have about 6½ hours invested in their 18 holes of golf with 4½ hours on course and the other two for getting to and from the course, practice chipping and putting and the 19th hole mentioned before. The course they play on will likely have well-watered greens and fairways, mowed with gas-powered mowers and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for constant course maintenance. The two golf carts they use will be gas or electric powered.
Lately, Joe has had more and more difficulty finding the time for his golfing activity — he often struggles to find the time to play a full round since Joe and his wife have two young kids and his job is getting more demanding.
The situation doesn’t change much for Mr. Average Jonas Swedish Golfer, save for the very, very limited use of golf carts in Sweden (most courses have no powered carts to rent and when they are available they often require a doctor’s letter to explain why they are needed). Further, the vast majority of Swedish golfers do not have much access to “pay and play” courses. In the Nordic countries, golfers become members of a private golf club allowing them to have playing options at many other Swedish golf club courses with reduced rates. Lately, Jonas has gotten more interested in triathlon training, which leaves much less time on weekends for golfing. His wife is also involved in triathlon training, so they can do this together with a group of friends.
The popularity of golf is on the decline. A Swedish entrepreneur responds to an industry crisis by balancing environmental, economic and lifestyle issues: Reinventing the Game of Golf in Sweden