Golf players’ opinions, understanding and ranking of course and playing quality parameters provide important supporting data for defining course and playing quality. Therefore a user survey was carried out in Scandinavia among golf players with different skills.
In autumn 2008, a questionnaire was drawn up (in Danish) in collaboration with the Danish Golf Union (dgu). This questionnaire was designed to deal with playing quality parameters, but also sustainability and the effects of restrictions on pesticides. It covered the different elements of the golf course: greens, fairways, tee areas, rough and bunkers. Comments were invited in relation to grass, trees, weeds, etc. – all the elements a player comes into contact with from hole 1 to hole 18.
This Danish questionnaire was tested on a number of players with different skills. It was then translated into English and Swedish. Finally, dgu converted the questionnaire into an internet version. This was distributed to contact persons in different golf clubs all over Scandinavia in order to have them to promote the user survey among their members. A number of clubs in Denmark, Norway and Sweden agreed to participate. No clubs in Finland and Iceland responded, but the Finnish Golf Union helped us to get in contact with Finnish golf players.
In addition, the survey was promoted on Teetime.dk (the largest internet site in Denmark for golf players) and on the Danish Golf Union website, which generated a lot of responses. By the time the survey closed, 1949 golf players had filled out the questionnaire. The amount of material generated is huge and complex. It will be presented in 1-2 international articles that will be submitted in 2010.
Sample results:
– Environmental issues. Not surprisingly, women appeared to be more aware of environmental issues. Among the countries surveyed, Sweden and Norway seemed to be more aware of the environmental issues.
– Weeds seemed to disturb the players more than fungi or insects.
– Men cared more about green speed, but most players preferred an uniform green to a quick green.
– In Denmark a pesticide agreement has been in operation for a number of years but 40% of the Danish golf players had never heard of it – raising questions about our ability to communicate with golf players.
– About 60% of the Danish players surveyed did not know the consequences of a pesticide ban.
