The Eurobarometer Sport and Physical Activity (2014) presents a Portuguese sports participation
(36%) distant from the European average. In golf the national trend keeps up, observing a national
participation rate among the lowest in Europe, less than 0.2% (KPMG, 2015). However, Portugal is
systematically considered as a reference destination when it comes to golf tourism (KPMG, 2015).
In this context, it is essential to study these asymmetries. In this case we decided to explore the
golf among the higher education community. The choice is justified by the potential impact on
participation associated with the expected buying power. Data collection was conducted through
self-determined questionnaire (Theodorakis, Alexandris, Rodriguez, & Sarmento, 2004). The
invitation to participate was sent via email and resulted in 258 valid responses [55% male, age (18-
57)]. The descriptive analysis of the, convenience, sample established that sport participation rate
is 84.8% (one or more times per week). The intensity practice is mostly considered to be
"moderate" (28.2%) to "high" (22.8%). Football (41.5%) and running (38.8%) are the most widely
practiced. The main constraints to the practice are the "lack of time" (70.5%) and "lack of
infrastructure near the residence" (20.9%). At the same time, 68.2% of respondents the desire for
more regular sports activities. Among the not practiced, the modalities ski/snowboarding (22.9%)
and tennis (19%) appear as the preferred. In the case of golf a insignificant rate is observed (1.2%),
yet a significant potential demand, 6.6%. When asked specifically about the possibility to practice
golf, 34.6% of respondents indicate that is likely or very likely to practice this sport in the time
frame of 3 to 5 years. It is concluded that sports participation rate of the sample is high, but the same was not true for golf. The study shows that golf has a high potential demand which must be
considered by managers and academics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
