Have you already spotted our lively and cute pro-golfer Ambassador from Sweden, Elina Hagberg, @golfbyelina on Instagram? She has a beautiful golf swing and a charming personality. Golf GameBook’s Susanna sat down with her to have a relaxed chat. Here’s a glimpse of the discussion that will give you a good understanding of how lovely Elina is 💛
Elina, you are a pro golfer with a strong presence on social media, tell us a little bit about yourself.
I’m 28 years old, from Gothenburg! I’m actually a former figure skater and I’ve been ice-skating my entire life. In 2018, I found the passion for golf and I totally fell in love. In 2020 I decided to quit figure skating and move fully on to professional golf. I wanted to follow my dream of playing golf professionally, so I made a goal to play on the Ladies European Tour (LET) in 2025. That’s my goal.
How did it all start? How did you get hooked on the game of golf?
It all started with me growing up, having a lot of friends the same age as me at the local golf club. My parents were helping with the juniors in the club and I was there just to have fun. I didn’t care about the golf (I was doing handstands and cartwheels, like a gymnast) while waiting to hit when people were slow before us haha!
We were a group of friends that practiced and played and I really enjoyed it. After a while I had to choose between figure skating and golf and by that time it was an easy decision. I loved figure skating and I was really talented at it. In 2018 some of my friends started to play golf since the summer was so warm, hot actually, like Florida. I followed along with my friend at one tournament since his partner couldn’t make it. In this tournament we played with the captain of the ladies team at my club and it took her about 3 holes to convince me to play for the team the year after. In 2019 we won the division, and in 2020 I was the captain; we ended up 2nd overall, which is fantastic. And that autumn (2020), I decided to focus on my own game because I really liked to compete.
Now I’m hooked and all I can think about both on and off the course is golf; how to improve, what to do next and so on. I love the game and mostly because it develops me so much as a person. I get to know myself in a way I didn’t think was possible and I know it will help me in my career later on as well.
What were your hobbies as a little kid?
As a kid, my hobbies were everything where I could run, jump, dance and be wild!
I could be outside the entire day playing with my friends when I was little. We had a trampoline at home where I spent endless hours jumping. We built high-jump things to jump with mattresses under for some security. We drove quads, cross-country in the woods and I was crazy.
I grew up in the countryside so we had a lot of things to do. I combined this with figure skating, ice hockey and golf.
Golf GameBook wants to strongly encourage Junior Golf and support young golfers.
What advice do you have for young girls and boys who are curious to begin golfing? How to stay motivated?
Absolutely, it is so important in all sports to have fun doing it!
Circle yourself with good friends and a good golf club where you like to spend your time. Since golf is a sport that takes a lot of hours, I can’t imagine spending so many hours NOT having fun. Golf is about having fun!
How did you discover the Golf GameBook app?
I found it through a friend of mine who used it before me. I was tired of writing my own score with a pencil on a paper scorecard; and then saving them in a pile at home and not doing anything with the scorecards afterwards.
Golf GameBook allows me to collect my scores in one place, digitally. Also, having my stats all calculated automatically in the app is really nice for me. Everything is so clear, well-structured and you even get the stats directly after the round.
What is your favorite feature on the #GGB app?
What I like the most about the application, is that friends, family and followers can follow live when you play golf and also, that I can follow my friends’ rounds when I’m off course. This makes it possible to cheer on each other and share the game during a fun day! You can also play different game formats with friends, set up exciting matches and so on. It is really fun!
How would you describe yourself as a golfer? What’s the strongest part of your game?
I’m a pretty aggressive golfer, who takes all the chances that I can. Which sometimes is really good and sometimes it is honestly speaking sh*t.
I’m also a social golfer that really likes to play with different people, to get new contacts and to learn from other people’s experiences. I just love to listen to other people’s stories.
The strongest part of my game is my driver, I really like to hit that club! And this year I’m trying to become best friends with my putter… it’s going “so so” 😉 Haha!
When you’re not on the golf course, what are you doing?
When I’m not on the golf course, I’m traveling to other courses around the world. I love to travel both for work and for fun. I love to explore new places, take photos, make videos and hang out with my friends.
I also like to create content for social media, play board games and eat out at restaurants with my friends and family.
What are your plans for this summer? Lots of golf, I assume 😉
My plans are to spend a lot of time with my friends and family. I will play some tournaments with friends just for fun and play a lot of tournaments on the LETAS.
This week I’m actually taking my boyfriend to Mallorca for a week just to relax. Of course we’re also playing some golf, and then swimming and eating a lot of good food! I will also do some hiking and day trips around Sweden since the summer is supposed to be really nice, weather wise! But the season continues until the end of October so I’m super excited to get the season going! ⛳️
Follow Elina’s golf experiences on the #GGB app! 🔥📲
