Linn Grant needs to talk

Project confidence at all times.

It’s a way of life for Linn Grant, whose first athletic passion wasn’t golf but equestrian, where it was all about making a 1,200-pound animal think she was in charge. When she reached the point where she needed to buy a horse to compete at the next level, Grant’s family wasn’t ready for that commitment, so she changed leads. Her father, John, played on the Swedish Golf Tour, and her grandfather, James, was a teaching pro. After getting more serious with golf as a teenager, Linn attended a sport high school in Sweden where athletes of all disciplines live, train and learn together.

There, her classmates included golfers Ludvig Åberg and Maja Stark. “It prepared me for college,” Grant says. “We had team practices at ASU, but a lot more of it was on our own. I had learned the tools to make the most of that freedom.” She won in her first year and then three times in a row in her sophomore spring. Then, she promptly turned pro and earned her 2022 LPGA Tour card via Q School. Due to her COVID-19 vaccination status, she played only six LPGA tournaments that year, finishing in the top 10 in four. To supplement her schedule, she played and won on tours throughout Europe and South Africa and became the first woman to win on the DP World Tour in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed—a feat she has now accomplished twice.

In 2023, her first full LPGA Tour season, she won the Dana Open. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, she represented Sweden. Wherever she plays, whomever she talks to, Grant carries herself with self-awareness atypical of a 25-year-old. The interview and photographs for this story were collected at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando.

Golf Digest: What do you like most about golf fashion right now?

Linn Grant: More brands are making clothes that you can wear outside of golf, which I really enjoy. I like to wear that cozy sweater on the golf course, then bring it back home and wear it with jeans. That feels authentic. I like that we’re getting away from all the rules that have dominated golf fashion for too long. When I was little there weren’t many options; I was wearing shorts that were too long and a polo shirt that was probably for boys. Now, there are so many alternatives.

Why do you think style is important?

I know it’s a cliche and maybe it’s just a feeling, but I play better when I look good. If I worked from home at a desk and sat in pajamas, I’d be so bad at my job, I think.

Do you have a favorite piece of golf clothing?

I love a good golf dress. It’s cute, and I like looking and feeling feminine on the golf course. Adidas has so many options, so it makes it fun putting together outfits.

Anything you hate?

I’m not a fan of black golf shoes. I don’t like to wear something that makes me feel overly masculine. Most of all, I don’t like being underdressed. That’s only happened to me once, in college, at a golf team dinner. A friend and I wore jeans. Everyone looked better. It was the worst feeling. Hasn’t happened to me since.

What’s your off-course look?

Outside of golf, I’m not sporty at all. In Sweden, our casual outfits are more formal than in America, so, if I go out, I’m usually very dressy. I get comments about it here, which I enjoy. I like looking nice, feeling nice and caring about what I wear.

Is the golf style different in Sweden, too?

In general, I’d say our style is a little more polished. Like, we don’t have shirts with drinks on them. A lot of people who have joined golf recently in Sweden like the old-school golf style, which is nice and clean. Some could say it’s a bit boring or repetitive—you end up wearing a lot of navy sweaters—though you’ll look good.

The best and worst things about life on the road?

Traveling has helped me gain a lot of perspective. I understand what I have control of and what I do not. I’ve learned to focus on where I physically am and the people around me. Booking a flight, car and hotel—I don’t overthink it now that I’ve done it so much—and the process just makes me feel free, like the world is accessible. The problem is, I’m on such a different schedule. People connect over the things they have in common, like working at the same company, living in the same town, and being in that same routine of work and life. When you don’t have that, it can be isolating. When my boyfriend was my caddie my first year on tour, that was great. When he went back to college, I hired a professional caddie. I made another change, and now my brother has been caddieing for me for the last year.

How’s that going with your brother?

Jonathan and I are figuring it out as we go, but it’s been really good. On-course communication is hard, but it’s even harder when you’re in an intense tournament situation. Prior, I found myself thinking about my caddie and worrying if what I was going to say would come off the wrong way and hurt his feelings. I was trying to be nice and making these calculations about my communication at times when I didn’t have the bandwidth to do so. I need to get better at those situations. But with my brother, I can say whatever I want, however I want to say it, and I know he’ll never get offended. That lets me focus on the shot that needs to be hit.

You come across as very confident. Have you always been this way?

I think so. I look like I’ve got my sh– together at all times, even when I don’t, because I’m confident with not having it all figured out. I never feel like I have to fake anything or pretend to know what I’m doing. Whatever situation I’m in, I am just going to be myself. I have confidence in that.

What does make you stressed?

Three putts (laughs). No, honestly, the last year I’ve been feeling more stressed walking into busy rooms—not because I don’t enjoy being the center of attention—but because I have realized for a lot of people, I’m the golfer. That’s it. But golf is just one part of me. Those interactions make me uncomfortable because it feels inauthentic, like I’m not being myself. Whenever I meet someone who is good at something or famous, I talk to them as a person, not just ask about their last tournament or their stats or Instagram. You can’t know a person from that.

If you weren’t a golfer, what would you be doing?

I would be a show jumper. I feel like equestrian is going to be my after-golf life. When I was at the Olympics in Paris, one of the best moments was meeting Malin Baryard-Johnsson (2020 Tokyo gold medalist, team jumping). She’s huge in Sweden. When I was 10, I had a school assignment that was “If you could live a day as whoever you want, who would it be and what would you do?” I wrote about her. Then we’re together in Paris, both competing for Sweden. It was such a sweet, personal moment.

Do you listen to music when you practice?

No, podcasts. I listen to a Swedish talk show. It’s entertaining, and they often have different opinions on things than I do, so it makes me think.

Are you someone who writes down goals for the season?

I just did it the other day. I want to win a major. The majors are my focus this year. I want to be in the top 25 in all stats categories. I have process goals, like I want to be more efficient in my training when I’m home. Then I have goals as a person. I want to be kinder. Like me saying that I don’t want to talk about golf to a group of people, that’s where I could be kinder and just do it and move on without thinking about it. You can very easily become narcissistic when you’re a professional golfer. I want to avoid that.