Golf in Sweden dates to 1888 when the first course was opened at Ryfors Bruk inMullsjö.^[1] The first 18 hole course was opened inGothenburg in 1894, and Stockholm Golf Club was established along with theSwedish Golf Federation (SGF) in 1904.^[1] Today it is a popular sport with over half a million active players and close to 500 courses.^[2]

In 1946,Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland became Chairman of the SGF.Sven Tumba was instrumental in promoting the game as a healthy activity for the masses, and in 1968 he organized exhibition matches at Lidingö Golf Club andFalsterbo Golf Club featuringArnold Palmer, popularizing the sport further. By 1970 there were 110 courses.^[1]

The first notable Swedish professional golfers emerged in the 1970s, withGunnar Mueller the first to play all four rounds in amajor at the1973 Open Championship.Kärstin Ehrnlund joined theLadies European Tour in its inaugural season in1979, and secured the first Swedish victory on the tour in1980. In 1982,Charlotte Montgomery became the first to qualify as a member on one of the main U.S.-based golf tours when she succeeded at theLPGA Final Qualifying Tournament, soon followed byPia Nilsson, who would later captain the European1998 Solheim Cup team.^[3]

Golf boomed in the 1980s, and the number of courses almost doubled in a single decade to 271. In 1984, theSwedish Golf Tour was established, and a women's tour followed two years later. Corporate sponsorship of professionals emerged, and Team Saab supported bySaab Automobile, sawOve Sellberg,Magnus Persson andKrister Kinell turn professionals in 1982 and be competitive on theEuropean Tour, where the first victory came in1986.Liselotte Neumann became the first LPGA Tour winner andmajor champion when she won the1988 U.S. Women's Open.^[3]

In 1997,Gabriel Hjertstedt became the first to win on the PGA Tour and two years later the first two-time winner.Jesper Parnevik became the first three-time winner, with a total of five PGA Tour-titles 1997–2001. Between 1995 and 2005Annika Sörenstam was a dominant on the LPGA Tour, with a career record of 72 LPGA Tour titles, including 10 major victories. By the timeAnna Nordqvist won her third major in 2021, she and her compatriots had the third mostLPGA major championship titles of any nation, behind only the United States and South Korea. The first Swedishmen's major victory came at the2016 Open Championship throughHenrik Stenson, after Parnevik,Niclas Fasth andJonas Blixt had all recorded runner-up finishes.^[4]

As of January 2024, the number ofgolf clubs organized by theSwedish Golf Federation (SGF) was 445.^[2][5]

Golf Digest has continually ranked Swedish courses since 1993.Svensk Golf, a monthly publication attached to theSwedish Golf Federation, in 2020 published an updated ranking using the same methodology.^[6]

1. Visby GC
2. Bro Hof Slott GC – Stadium Course
3. Kristianstad GC – Åhus Östra
4. Ullna GC
5. Falsterbo GC
6. Halmstad GC – Norra
7. Vallda G&CC
8. Österåker GC – Öster by Stenson
9. PGA Sweden National – Links Course
10. Barsebäck G&CC – Masters Course
11. Vasatorp GC – Tournament Course
12. Ljunghusen GC – 1–18
13. Royal Drottningholm GC
14. Bro Hof Slott GC – Castle Course
15. Sand GC

TheSwedish Golf Tour has operated continuously since 1984, and theSwedish Golf Tour (women) since 1986. Recently most tournaments also feature on theNordic Golf League andLET Access Series, respectively.

TheSwedish Golf Federation instituted the first national golf tournament in 1904. Notable tournaments include:^[1]

• Swedish Matchplay Championship (since 1904)
• Swedish International Stroke Play Championship (1945–2006)
• Swedish International (women) (1962–2007)
• Swedish PGA Championship (since 1970)
• Swedish PGA Championship (women) (since 1997)
• Swedish Junior Matchplay Championship (since 1939)
• Swedish Junior Strokeplay Championship (since 1977)

TheSolheim Cup has been hosted twice:^[7]

• 2003 Solheim Cup atBarsebäck Golf & Country Club
• 2007 Solheim Cup atHalmstad Golf Club

TheEuropean Tour:^[8]

• Scandinavian Enterprise Open, played 1973–1990, rotated betweenRoyal Drottningholm GC,Bokskogen GC,Vasatorp GC,Linköping GC andUllna GC.
• PLM Open, played 1984–1990, mainly rotated between the links coursesFalsterbo GC,Ljunghusen GC andFlommen GC.
• Scandinavian Masters, played 1991–2019, was typically hosted atBarsebäck G&CC, with stints atKungsängen GC,Forsgården GC andArlandastad Golf, before a new rota ofBro Hof Slott GC,PGA Sweden National andHills GC was established in 2010.
• Scandinavian Mixed, played 2020–2024.

TheLadies European Tour:

• Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika, played 1996–2008, was the longest running of over a dozen different LET tournaments hosted.

TheChallenge Tour:

• Swedish courses hosted over a hundredChallenge Tour events 1990–2020.

TheInternational Golf Federation orEuropean Golf Association:

• Sweden has hosted over 40 IGF or EGA events starting with the 1962St Andrews Trophy atHalmstad GC.

Qualification event for theJunior Solheim Cup:

• Annika Invitational Europe (since 2012)

As of October 2024, the number of active golfers organized by theSwedish Golf Federation was 506,000.^[2] This makes golf the third largest sport in Sweden in terms of active members, behindassociation football andathletics.^[9]

Annika Sörenstam won Swedish Golfer of the Year nine times 1995–2005, andHenrik Stenson five times 2006–2016.

Members includeAnnika Sörenstam,Liv Wollin,Henrik Stenson,Liselotte Neumann,Sven Tumba,Jesper Parnevik,Pia Nilsson,Göran Zachrisson,Helen Alfredsson andRobert Karlsson.^[10]

Fanny Sunesson, who caddied forNick Faldo 1990–1999 and is the first female caddie to win amen's major golf championship,^[11] was inducted into theCaddie Hall of Fame in 2003.^[12]

The Swedish Golf Team is the national squad. Amateur players from the age of 13 are trained and selected by the SGF to represent the country in international tournaments. The first win came at the1959 European Amateur Team Championship. Notably, the women's team won theEuropean Ladies' Team Championship three consecutive years 2018, 2019 and 2020, with players such asLinn Grant,Maja Stark,Frida Kinhult andIngrid Lindblad.^[13]

In 2023,Ingrid Lindblad andLudvig Åberg briefly topped theWorld Amateur Golf Ranking simultaneously.

Updated as of 14 December 2025.

Swedishprofessional golfers have collectively won over a hundredEuropean Tour titles and also over a hundredLPGA Tour titles. Notable golfers listed below are those with a win or runner-up finish on any of theprinciplal international tours.^[a][b]

Between 2016 and 2024, ten different golfers represented Sweden at the olympics.Henrik Stenson won a medal at the2016 Summer Olympics.

Ludvig Åberg was the 12thRyder Cup player from Sweden, whilePia Nilsson,Catrin Nilsmark,Helen Alfredsson,Carin Koch andAnnika Sörenstam have all beenSolheim Cup captains.

Anders Forsbrand andPer-Ulrik Johansson won the1991 World Cup.Liselotte Neumann andHelen Alfredsson won the 1992Sunrise Cup World Team Championship.

Participation at the Olympics
Golf at the Summer Olympics
Games of Olympiad II III XXXI XXXII XXXIII Year 1900 1904 2016 2020 2024 Host country Athlete Men's[16][17] Henrik Stenson DNP DNP David Lingmerth T11 Henrik Norlander T45 Alex Norén T16 T45 Ludvig Åberg T18 Women's[18][17] Anna Nordqvist T11 T23 Pernilla Lindberg T31 Madelene Sagström T20 Maja Stark T10 Linn Grant T27 Total 10 — — 4 4 4
Golf at the Summer Youth Olympics
Year 2014 2018 2022 Host country Athlete Men's Marcus Kinhult P O S T P O N E D Ludvig Eriksson T26 Women's Linnea Ström T12 Amanda Linnér 30 Mixed Team Marcus Kinhult Linnea Ström Ludvig Eriksson Amanda Linnér T23 Total 4 2 2 —
Competitor  Medalist inbold

Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup
Ryder Cup
1993 1995 1997 1999 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2021 2023 2025 Host country Winning team Joakim Haeggman Per-Ulrik Johansson Jesper Parnevik Jarmo Sandelin Niclas Fasth Pierre Fulke Anders Forsbrand Robert Karlsson Henrik Stenson [g] Peter Hanson Alex Norén Ludvig Åberg Total players 1 1 2 2 3 — 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 — 1 1   Europe captain  Player – Automatic qualifier  Player – Captain's pick  Non-playing vice-captain  Winner inbold
Solheim Cup
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 2021 2023 2024 2026 Player statistics Host country Year Cups Matches Points Win % W L H Winning team First Last Helen Alfredsson 1990 2009 8 28 12 43% 11 15 2 Liselotte Neumann 1990 2000 6 21 8.5 40% 6 10 5 Catrin Nilsmark 1992 2000 5 16 8.5 53% 8 7 1 Annika Sörenstam 1994 2007 8 37 24 65% 22 11 4 Sophie Gustafson 1998 2011 8 31 16 52% 13 12 6 Charlotta Sörenstam 1998 1998 1 4 1.5 38% 1 2 1 Pia Nilsson Carin Koch 2000 2005 4 16 11.5 72% 10 3 3 Maria Hjorth McBride 2002 2011 5 21 8.5 40% 6 10 5 Linda Wessberg 2007 2007 1 2 1.5 75% 1 0 1 Anna Nordqvist 2009 2024 9 35 18.5 53% 17 15 3 Caroline Hedwall 2011 2023 5 17 9.5 56% 9 7 1 Madelene Sagström 2017 2024 4 12 5.5 46% 5 6 1 Linn Grant 2023 2024 2 9 3 33% 3 6 0 Maja Stark 2023 2024 2 8 4 50% 3 3 2 Total players 2 3 4 4 6 6 5 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 2 5 4   Europe captain  Non-playing assistant captain  Playing assistant captain  Player – Automatic qualifier  Player – Captain's pick  Winner inbold

World Cup
Men
World Cup World Cup of Golf WGC-World Cup World Cup (of Golf) Apps. Best finish Player 83 84 85 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 11 13 16 18 Magnus Persson 3 T10 Ove Sellberg 4 Anders Forsbrand 6 Johan Ryström 1 9 Mats Lanner 3 Per-Ulrik Johansson 3 Joakim Haeggman 4 Jesper Parnevik 2 Jarmo Sandelin 3 9 Patrik Sjöland 3 5 Mathias Grönberg 2 5 Pierre Fulke 1 T7 Niclas Fasth 4 Robert Karlsson 5 Carl Pettersson 2 Freddie Jacobson 2 T7 Henrik Stenson 4 Peter Hanson 2 T6 Alex Norén 2 5 Jonas Blixt 1 11 David Lingmerth 1 5 Alexander Björk 1 9 Joakim Lagergren 1 9 Total T11 T10 9 7 T19 T3 17 1 2 T13 3 9 13 WD T11 5 T7 16 T14 T7 T7 T2 3 T6 1 T2 25 11 5 9   Player  Qualified but did not play  Winner inbold
Women
S. Cup World Cup European Nations Cup International Crown 1992 2000 2005 2006 2007 2008 2008 2009 2010 2011 2014 2016 2018 2020 2023 2025 Tours LET LPGA &LET LET LPGA Host country Winning team C A N C E L L E D Annika Sörenstam Liselotte Neumann Helen Alfredsson Carin Koch Sophie Gustafson Maria Hjorth Johanna Westerberg Lotta Wahlin Anna Nordqvist Caroline Hedwall Pernilla Lindberg Mikaela Parmlid Madelene Sagström Maja Stark Linn Grant Ingrid Lindblad   Seeded player  Unseeded player  Qualified but did not play  Winner inbold