Despite the ongoing war, the golf community in Ukraine has experienced unexpected growth and resilience, providing players, veterans, and civilians with a vital outlet for normalcy and psychological recovery.
At Kyiv’s Lisnyky Golf Club, general director Oleksandr Denyskin and his staff routinely sweep fairways for rocket shrapnel and deal with the sounds of nearby military training and air-defense interceptions. Despite the constant threat of aerial bombardments, power outages, and bitter winters, official data from the European Golf Association shows that registered golfers in Ukraine increased from 1,837 in 2021 to nearly 2,700 by 2025. Facilities like Lisnyky and the Kozyn Golf & Country Club have seen surges in independent play and new participants, serving as a psychological refuge where people can temporarily disconnect from the trauma of the conflict.
The war has deeply impacted Ukrainian golf infrastructure. The renowned Golf Stream Club near Makariv, which was occupied by Russian forces early in the invasion, suffered devastating destruction during the Battle of Makariv and is considered irreparable by local staff. Former coaches and players from destroyed courses, such as Anna Grytsenko, have found new roles at operating clubs like Lisnyky, where they lead specialized programs for military veterans. For soldiers returning from combat or long periods as prisoners of war, golf offers a meditative space to begin processing trauma and finding a sense of freedom.
The sport is also engaging a new generation of players. Families displaced from heavily bombarded eastern cities, like the Kogan sisters from Kharkiv, have integrated into Kyiv’s golf community to find stability and focus. Meanwhile, national team coach Ruslan Garkavenko—who famously taught himself the game as a teenager using makeshift equipment inspired by the movie “Happy Gilmore”—now helps manage coaching shortages and mentor rising youth players. Even local children contribute to the ecosystem by diving into water hazards to retrieve and resell golf balls. Ultimately, while participants sometimes grapple with feelings of survivor’s guilt, the community views maintaining the sport as a vital declaration of life continuing amidst wartime destruction.
