Disc golf in Sweden
Disc golf is developing rapidly and can today be played on many courses across the whole of Sweden. To take a closer look at this development, we at Disc Tree have gained access to the information that the players register in the uDisc app when they play. uDisc is the world's most used disc golf app and based on their data we have collected figures and facts showing the development in the number of disc golf courses, number of rounds played and number of players until the end of 2021. Although uDisc is used a lot, not all rounds are registered and the article is thus based on the number of registered rounds.
Disc golf is a fun and challenging outdoor activity where everyone can participate. Over the last few years, the sport has exploded in popularity. That disc golf experiences such significant progress may be due to the fact that it is a sport that can be played across age, gender and physical fitness. At the same time, new tracks are popping up all over the country, making the sport more and more accessible.
Getting started with disc golf doesn't require a large investment. Most disc golf courses in Sweden are free to play on, and you can find a starter set of 3 golf discs for less than DKK 150. You don't have to book time on the course to play, so all in all, disc golf is a very flexible sport that can be played by the whole family.
The article is based on data provided to Disc Tree by uDisc, the world's leading disc golf app.
Disc golf course in Sweden
The number of disc golf courses in Sweden is every increasing. This helps to make the sport even more accessible. Disc golf courses typically have 9 or 18 curves that are played to complete the course. The location and difficulty of the courses can vary greatly and this contributes to the course's popularity. In 2021, 168 new disc golf courses have been built in Sweden.
At the end of 2021, there are a total of 505 disc golf courses in Sweden and the number has been steadily increasing since 2015. The courses are distributed all over the country and 70% of the existing courses were built within the last 4 years.
The number of disc golf courses in Sweden
The location, maintenance and size of the course have a big impact on how much they are used. Many disc golf players like to spend extra time on transportation to visit the very best courses. At the same time, it also matters a lot whether the course is free to play on or not.
Number of disc golf rounds played
Disc golf has become extremely popular and the development is evident when looking at the number of rounds registered. Playing a round of disc golf consists of completing all the holes on one of the Swedish disc golf courses. Over 1,032,000 rounds of disc golf have been played in 2021 alone.
Number of disc golf rounds played in Sweden
From 2015 to 2021 is the number of registered rounds increased by over 5400%. At the same time, it is clear that the suburban tracks in the larger Swedish cities get the most visits. The 5 most played in courses in 2021 are:
Disc golf can be played all year round. Despite the fact that disc golf is an outdoor activity, there are also many who defy the weather during the winter. In 2021, over 80,000 rounds of disc golf were played combined in the 3 winter months: January, February and December. However, most people like to go for a round in the heat and therefore the Swedish courses are most frequently visited from April to September.
Number of rounds played per month
The busiest months on disc golf courses in Sweden are June and July which suggests that most rounds in Sweden are played in the middle of summer.
Disc golf players in Sweden
The data shows that over 30,000 unique registered disc golf players in 2021 have registered a minimum of one round in uDisc. Many people play a round of disc golf without registering their round and therefore the actual number of players in Sweden is difficult to get an overview of. Players who do not have a user at uDisc can register a round on an anonymous user. These annonymous round also count in the statistics.
The number of disc golf players on the Swedish courses with a uDisc user is significantly increasing. While not all players are using the app, the trend is clear. From 2017 to 2021 the number of registered players increased over 1100%.
Disc golf players in Swedenwith a uDisc user
Out of the 1,032,000 rounds in 2021, 26% of the rounds were played by anonymous uDisc users who have not created an account in the app. Assuming that the anonymous uDisc users play on average the same amount of rounds as the registered users, it shows that up to 40,000 players have registered a round of disc golf in 2021. This number does not include all the players not using uDisc at all which leave a shadow number on top of the 40,000 players.
uDisc - The world's leading disc golf app
uDisc is the world's leading disc golf app. With uDisc on your phone, you have access to a map of all courses around the world. You can also use the app to keep score, keep statistics on your rounds, find your way around the different courses and much more.
For this article, Disc Tree has gained access to uDisc's data for all recorded rounds on the Swedish disc golf courses in the period from 2015 to 2022. Data is of course anonymised and cleared of all personally identifiable information before it is provided by uDisc.
All graphs and statistics in this article are solely based on the rounds registered in the uDisc app. The actual figures may therefore be significantly higher. It is concluded that there are many players who do not use the app at all, and further that many uDisc users do not register all their rounds. On uDisc's own website you can find a disc golf course near you.
Read more about disc sports
If you have become curious about more, you can read more on our page:
- What is disc golf?
In our guide to disc golf you will find an introduction to disc golf and here you can read much more about what the sport is all about. - What is the ultimate frisbee?
Unlike disc golf, ultimate frisbee is a team sport. The common feature is that both sports are played with a disc or a frisbee. You can read much more about ultimate frisbee in our guide to ultimate frisbee.
References and questions
We would very much like to share our work with you and we really appreciate that you also want to write about disc golf in Sweden. If you use information from this article, please cite this page with a direct link or with a link to https://disctree.se. If you have questions or comments, you are always welcome to contact us by email, via a contact form on this page or on social media.