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2 October 2026 · 9 min read

Swin Golf in Switzerland: what it is, the rules, what it costs and where to play it

One club, a soft ball 5 cm across, no course licence: Swin Golf costs CHF 20 for adults in Tschugg and Hochwald. Rules, differences to golf and venues in Switzerland.

Swin Golf in Switzerland: what it is, the rules, what it costs and where to play it — post image

Swin Golf is a golf variant from France: you play with a single club and a soft ball 5 cm across, without a course licence and without a handicap. In Switzerland a round for adults costs CHF 20 in Tschugg and in Hochwald, club and ball included. This post explains the rules, the difference to golf and the venues whose websites I read on 2 October 2026.

What is Swin Golf?

Swin Golf, also written Swingolf, was developed in 1982 by Laurent de Vilmorin according to the German Wikipedia, with simplified rules and lower demands on equipment. The first course was built in 1982 at Etampes near Paris. A round usually consists of 18 fairways that are 10 to 12 m wide and 2 to 3 km long together. You play on meadow.

The ball is a sphere 5 cm in diameter that weighs 50 grams. It flies much slower and shorter than a golf ball. The club has a head with differently angled faces, so you can tee off, approach and hole out with it. Its length follows the height of your hips, with standard lengths between 80 and 105 cm. The Migros family site writes that the balls are harmless because they are softer than hard golf balls (Famigros).

Swin Golf or golf: the differences

FeatureSwin GolfGolf
Clubone universal club with a three-sided headdifferent clubs depending on distance, see Club types and numbers
Ballhard foam, 5 cm, 50 gramsgolf ball, only half as voluminous
Accessno course permit, instead an introduction and practice shots at a net, no handicap neededcourse permit by passing a test, see Golf without a course licence
Area9 holes about 5 ha, 18 holes about 10 ha, about 15 percent of the area of a classic golf coursea classic golf course needs correspondingly more land
Clothingno expectationsetiquette and dress code, see Golf etiquette and dress code
DurationHochwald: a game takes about 2.5 hourssee Pace and duration of a round of golf

Swin Golf shares its words with golf, par, green, tee shot, and the idea of getting into the hole in few strokes. But it is a game of its own with courses of its own. The terms that appear in both are explained in Golf terms explained.

The rules in short

Swin-Golf Tschugg publishes its rules on one sheet. The aim is to play the eighteen fairways in as few strokes as possible, and the lowest total of strokes wins. You play in turns, and whoever is furthest from the flag plays next. If the ball lands in ground that cannot be played, for example under bushes, you put it back on the grass, but not closer to the green, and add a penalty stroke. How penalty strokes are counted in golf is in Penalty strokes at a glance.

As in golf, every fairway has a par. A par 3 is 50 to 100 m long in Swin Golf, a par 4 100 to 200 m and a par 5 200 to 300 m. Beginners may set the ball on a plastic peg, a tee, except on the green. The hole is 30 cm across, and the flag may be removed briefly to hole out. The local rules of Tschugg open with a sentence on safety: careful with the club, risk of injury.

Where can you play Swin Golf in Switzerland?

I did not find a central list of the Swiss courses. The venue in Hochwald writes on its site that Swin Golf is growing in popularity in Switzerland with 11 courses, without a date. I read three courses on their own sites:

VenueCantonFairwaysWhat the site says
Swin-Golf TschuggBern18, opened in 2000 with 9 holes, 18 since 2007open from Easter to the end of October, Monday to Friday from 2 pm, Saturday and Sunday from 1 pm
Swingolf Herrenmatt, HochwaldSolothurn9, 1470 m, opened in 2002playable all year
Swin-Golf LavignyVaud18, par 72, 2'703 mEuropean championship 2010, six fairways accessible by wheelchair

If you search for Swin Golf in Bern, you end up in Tschugg. The venue calls itself the third in Switzerland and the first in German-speaking Switzerland and lies 3 km from Erlach, 5 minutes by bus. According to the Migros family site Hochwald lies in the Schwarzbubenland, the local recreation area of Basel. Wikipedia also names City-Swin, a variant played through green spaces in Basel and Fribourg. I have not checked whether it still exists.

What does Swin Golf cost?

Both venues publish their prices. In Tschugg adults are 17 and over, children are 6 to 16 years old. As of 2 October 2026:

Swin-Golf TschuggAdultsChildren
Course with club and ballCHF 20CHF 14
Course with club, without ballCHF 18CHF 12
Course without clubCHF 15CHF 9
10-round card with club, without ball, one round freeCHF 180CHF 120
Season pass with your own club and ballCHF 250
extra ballCHF 3CHF 3

In Hochwald adults pay CHF 20 and children CHF 12, club and ball are included. Prices change, so check them on the venue's site before you go.

What this means for you: two worked examples

A family of two adults and two children pays in Tschugg, with club and ball, 2 times CHF 20 plus 2 times CHF 14, so CHF 68. In Hochwald it is 2 times CHF 20 plus 2 times CHF 12, so CHF 64. The game takes about 2.5 hours there.

If you come more often, work out the 10-round card in Tschugg: CHF 180 for ten rounds plus one free, that is 11 rounds and about CHF 16.40 per round. The price to compare it with is the course with a club and without a ball for CHF 18, because the card includes no ball.

For a comparison with the simulator: in our directory 80 of the 110 indoor venues state an hourly price, between CHF 25 and 99, with a median of CHF 50 per bay (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries). That is a different calculation, because the price is for the bay and one hour, not for one round per person. What a green fee costs on a golf course is in What a green fee costs in Switzerland.

Who is Swin Golf for?

For children: the Migros family site calls the game suitable for children from eight years, and the children's rate in Tschugg applies from 6 to 16 years. If you want an alternative for rainy days, Indoor minigolf or golf simulator compares both, and Indoor minigolf in Switzerland lists the venues. If you want to lead children to golf later, Golf for children in Switzerland has age and prices. Dogs are not allowed on the course in Tschugg.

For older players and beginners: according to Wikipedia, Swin Golf can be played with good general fitness even in old age and with physical limitations. The swing stays a swing. If you start golf late, read Starting golf late, and for your back Golf and back pain has a warm-up of five minutes.

From Swin Golf to golf: the next step

Swin Golf is a game for meadow and season: Tschugg is open from Easter to the end of October, Hochwald is playable all year. If you enjoy the hitting and want to carry on with golf clubs and a golf ball, the simulator hour is the smallest step. You do not need a course licence for it, and Golf without a course licence and without membership explains what is possible in Switzerland. What you bring to the first hour is in What to bring to your first simulator hour, and for the months without a Swin Golf season read Golf in winter in Switzerland.

The directory lists 126 venues: 110 indoor venues and 16 ranges with ball-flight tracking, in 21 cantons (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries). The map shows them by canton, golf simulator near me the nearest venue, the hourly prices are on golf simulator prices, and golf simulator for beginners is the start for the first hour. Another form of play without a course licence is described in Disc golf in Switzerland.

Frequently asked questions

What is Swin Golf?

Swin Golf is a golf variant from France dating from 1982. You play with a single universal club and a hard foam ball 5 cm across, usually over 18 fairways on meadow. There is no course permit as in golf, and you do not need a handicap.

Do I need a course licence or a handicap for Swin Golf?

No. Swin Golf does not know the course permit that golf requires after a test, it is replaced by an introduction and practice shots at a net. The Migros family site writes that no previous knowledge is needed and the handicap does not apply.

What does Swin Golf cost in Switzerland?

As of 2 October 2026 adults pay CHF 20 in Tschugg with club and ball, children from 6 to 16 years CHF 14. In Hochwald it costs CHF 20 for adults and CHF 12 for children, club and ball are included.

Where can I play Swin Golf in Switzerland?

Three venues with their own site: Swin-Golf Tschugg in the canton of Bern with 18 fairways, Swingolf Herrenmatt in Hochwald in the canton of Solothurn with 9 holes and Swin-Golf Lavigny in the canton of Vaud with 18 fairways. I did not find a central list.

What is the difference between golf and Swin Golf?

Swin Golf needs only one club, a softer ball 5 cm across and no course permit. The ball flies slower and shorter. According to Wikipedia the space needed is about 15 percent of the area of a classic golf course.

Sources