Perceived accessibility on golf courses – Perspectives from the golf federation

• Where the principle of freedom to roam is strong, it has been claimed that golf courses restrict public access to these often attractive and large areas, which could be important recreational areas also to non-golfers. This pilot study, however, show that the situation is rather nuanced.
• When analysing the change in use and accessibility after construction of the golf course we found that all but one (Korpa) were more accessible and more used by the public after construction of the golf course.
• We found that although freedom to roam applied prior to the golf course establishment (although with limitations in Denmark), many of the areas had land uses that restricted freedom to roam.
• In the areas where access was previously restricted, we found that the golf course establishment actually increased accessibility.
• In the areas that had not had restrictions for use prior to the golf course establishment, the actual accessibility has gone down, since movement is restricted to non-golfers outside trails and paths.

This pilot study addresses the effect of golf course establishments on public accessibility to recreational areas. There has been debate over whether golf courses represent a limitation to public access to green spaces and thereby the possibility for outdoor recreation. In Scandinavia, freedom to roam is an important legislation providing public access to the countryside. However, freedom to roam is not without limitations, and common rights does not necessarily lead to frequent use of accessible areas. In this study we assess whether golf course establishment prevent or provide accessibility to recreational areas in practice. Through interviews with green keepers and representatives from the golf federations in four Scandinavian countries we found that the effects of golf course establishment on accessibility vary between golf courses. In areas with limitations to freedom to roam and infrequent recreational use prior to the golf course establishment, the use can actually increase due to introduction of inviting elements such as information signs, paths and public resting areas.