Why Do We Play Golf? An Exploratory Research

In recent years, golf tourism, as a form of sports tourism, has experienced significant growth. Knowing the behavior of golf players helps managers of sports facilities establish new marketing strategies and increases opportunities for golf tourism destinations. This article explores the factors that influence the intention to play golf through an exploratory-sequential design. The value attributed to the environment where the sport is played is the variable with the greatest impact on participation. Golfers also perceive golf courses to be responsible in their environmental management, which has a direct impact on their intention to play. Furthermore, a relationship of considerable magnitude is found between experiential consumption and the perception of golf as a healthy sport. When analyzing the influence of the variables as a whole, it can be concluded that in the current post-pandemic era, the golf course experience or the health factor is less important for practicing this sport than the natural surroundings or the environmental factor. This research makes an important breakthrough by finding that golfers’ intentions to participate are influenced by their perception of the environmentally responsible behavior of golf courses and the value they place on the playing environment. Golf course managers are encouraged to communicate their environmental practices to the rest of society. This marketing strategy can be effective in positioning golf as an environmentally friendly sport, thus changing its image, which can undoubtedly attract new players.