Why Gen Z is loving non-varsity golf

Peyton Teevens wanted to see what would happen if she organized an intramural golf event at the University of Idaho. As the new intramural program coordinator, she wasn’t sure how much interest students had in golf. She organized a low-key scramble tournament in the spring semester of 2026, barely publicized it and expected about 20 people to sign up. When 112 entered, she was hustling with the golf course staff to figure out how to set aside enough tee times.

What Teevens saw was a phenomenon playing out at colleges across the country: Gen Z loves golf. This is a generation focused on long-term mental health and wellness. Those in college are looking at non-varsity sports not just as competitive outlets, but also as ways to socialize and connect.

“Mental health is a big trend right now,” Teevens says. “We’re seeing that across all aspects of the university, but especially in our rec and wellness. We’re doing our best to create more social space for students. We’re looking to sports that can be competitive and fun. Golf is the best of all the worlds.”

Being a golfer is also a marketable job skill. A 2024 Wall Street Journal article featured the sub-headline and promise, “Companies are eager to hire strong players who use hybrid work schedules to schmooze clients on the course.”

Whatever the motivations, golf’s popularity on college campuses is undeniable. Students checked out free rental sets 600 times during the 2025-26 school year at New Mexico State University. Clemson students lined up at 3:45 a.m. on the first day of class in 2026, hoping to be one of the 100 who could buy a $600 semester golf pass at the on-campus 18-hole course. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Clemson sold only 30 or 40 passes. In 2024, there was so much student interest that the school imposed the 100-pass limit out of respect for other members trying to make tee times. Stanford University’s golf physical wellness classes fill immediately, with dozens of students showing up on the first day of the beginner class hoping to get in. Across the country, Greek houses compete against each other. Courses owned by colleges subsidize student rounds. Bucket golf—oversized clubs used to hit big Wiffle balls into buckets around campus quads—has become an intramural sport. Many club teams have more than 100 members. Gen Z is spending its college years playing golf.

Club teams offer the most abundant opportunities to compete. These players often carry scratch or plus handicaps. David Robinson got into golf by showing up at his high school tryouts. He shot 130, got hooked and was scratch by the time he graduated. He considered playing Division III golf but realized he could still compete and travel and get the academic experience he wanted on James Madison University’s club team, which has 120 members. Teammate Patrick Burhop won the 2024 NCCGA Fall National Championship individual title at Pinehurst Resort, shooting two-over in the 36-hole tournament. Despite that competitive level, the door is open to beginners. Twice a year, the entire club plays a scramble tournament.

“Our club focuses on the social aspect and being a community for people,” Robinson says.

At Stanford, Erick Schlimmer teaches four levels of golf physical wellness classes. The beginner classes, which are up to nine classes from six, are in the highest demand, but all levels fill quickly. When Schlimmer started teaching a decade ago, the advanced class nearly was canceled one semester because of too few sign-ups. Now, there’s far too much interest for that to happen.

“It’s climbing,” Schlimmer says of student interest in the game. “I’m waiting for when is it going to plateau, but that driving range and the practice areas are just bumping.”

He covers golf fundamentals and etiquette in his classes, which count for college credit, so beginners who leave class and take advantage of the steeply discounted $18 twilight rate at the Stanford University course know enough to get around.

A decade ago, Schlimmer’s classes were predominantly male. Now they are split evenly between men and women.

At NMSU, more women are playing, too. Free clinics for students and the twilight rate of $9 per round make it easy to start.

“They’re by themselves, a group of college-age women, to play, to learn and see what it’s about. A lot of that is through social media, in my opinion,” says Jason White, head pro at NMSU. Golf’s image has changed through Instagram. Golf doesn’t look as buttoned up and intimidating as it once did. “It’s a vibe. They’re realizing, this could be for me.”

Sarah Protz, now a senior at the University of South Carolina, got into golf by chance. Her brother’s friend played, and they brought her to the course when she was 14. Surprised by her natural swing, they told her she could be good at it. When Protz asked her mom if she could take lessons, her mom paused.

“In her generation she wasn’t as welcome on the golf course,” Protz says. Protz didn’t feel that hesitation because she had seen so many women play golf, whether influencers on social media or tour players on television. “Social media has played a big part in it,” Protz says.

Protz played four years of high school varsity golf and joined the women’s club team at USC. The National Collegiate Club Golf Association reports more women-only clubs and more women on coed teams in recent years. USC’s women’s club was founded in 2021 with 18 players and grew to 75 by fall 2025. It has two categories, competitive and social. The competitive team travels several times per semester to tournaments, but even players who join to compete value the social aspect. “Girls come in wanting to be competitive, but you find your roommate here,” Protz says. “You leave taking your graduation photos together.”

The team holds three optional practices a week: two at the range and a nine-hole round Sundays at a local course. Members coordinate rides for the 15-minute trip.

For some students, social media is what brings them to the golf course, but it can also be what they’re trying to escape once they get there. This is a group of young adults who spent much of their teen years distanced from their peers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Golf offers outdoor exercise and easy social interaction.

“I think it’s a good excuse to get out and get away from school. It’s a stressful time in our lives, in the world. Golf is a good way to disconnect,” says Justin Davis, a sophomore at the University of Idaho. He played his first round in 2022 with family and has gotten more serious since. He and his best friend make tee times on the weekends and are often paired with people from the community. As an ROTC student, he’s found pairings with retired members of the military to be particularly meaningful.

“I’ve made a lot of friends, my age and 50 years my senior, on the golf course,” Davis says.

Golf may be the activity this generation of college students has been craving. No generation has grown up with more instant gratification than Gen Z, yet its members are spending their college years playing a game that might require more time and patience than any. Perhaps that’s exactly what they need.