Swing Don’t Swipe

As dating apps lose their appeal, Denver golfers Andrea Jacobson and Leah Aglietti are helping singles trade swipes for tee times through their growing meetup series designed to create real connections on the course

By: Jim Bebbington 

Ah golf – the game that put loves in the air. With the explosion of interest in the game among millennials, golf can sometimes be used as a way for couples to meet and get to know one another. A recent Reddit discussion on whether golf and dating can mix returned comments all over the board on whether it’s actually a good idea. “I would seriously consider marrying a woman who suggested a round of golf on a first date,” one man answered.

The game offers time together. It can be fun and relaxing. It can give players a chance to talk and cheer each other on. What could go wrong?

Plenty.

It turns out that golf dating also has a built-in minefield of trouble that can doom a meet-up before it has a chance to flourish. But done right, golf can also help a couple kick the tires on a new twosome, possibly setting something up for life.

“It’s a hobby that I saw my grandparents do all the way into their 60s and 70s,” said Andrea Jacobsen, who along with her friend Leah Aglietti started the Denver-based millennial golf meet-up series Swing Don’t Swipe. “And I think that’s a lifelong sport that you can do with your partner.”

Before Aglietti and Jacobsen started Swing Don’t Swipe, Aglietti learned first-hand what a golf-date-gone-wrong can look like. She and her prospective date met through the dating apps, and they met at Wellshire Golf Course in Denver – not an easy track – for a full 18-hole round.

If this had just been a coffee date, it would have emerged pretty quickly that they weren’t hitting it off. Then someone would have paid the tab, and both could have walked away with their dignity. Instead, they were sharing a golf cart, and the date part of the round went south right away. “This man doesn’t ask me one question,” Aglietti said. “And I’m carrying the conversation.”

They were paired with another couple, and her date just wanted to talk with the other guy. Aglietti was playing well, but considered dropping out at the turn. On the 13th hole her date suddenly experienced a ‘back injury,’ drove her to the parking lot, let her load her own clubs off the cart into her car, tossed her her Birkenstocks from the cart basket, and drove off. “He doesn’t even get out of the cart to help me!” she said.

Not great.

In 2023 Aglietti and Jacobsen met at women’s golf group, Fore the Ladies, where they would play 9 holes and chat for drinks. “And we were chatting, both single, standing at the first tee box and I said to Andrea, If we’re doing this to meet other women, why don’t we do this to meet guys?,” Aglietti said. “And the idea was born.”

Their millennial-singles-golf meet up avoids many of the risks that golf can present to first dates. They play par 3 courses, usually just nine holes. They pair the groups in six-somes – three guys, three girls – and everyone changes partners after three holes. Then everyone has time to chat more over drinks.

“We knew golf can be a very intimidating sport,” Jacobsen said. “So, we just want to make it inclusive, which is obviously Harvard Gulch. It’s like the most chillest place in Denver and very easy to organize with them and then it’s approachable for everybody involved.”

One of their couples has even become engaged – with each other! – and Aglietti and Jacobsen feel a little like proud matchmakers.

“We should officiate, to be honest,” Jacobsen said.

Remember, it’s a date first; a round of golf second.

Getting to know each other is the primary goal, even if you dunk every golf ball you own into a pond. If love blooms, that’s money well spent.

For more information on Swing Don’t Swipe and upcoming events, go to @SwingDontSwipe on Instagram.