Golf is a game of the senses. A chip onto a quick green gently sloping away from you requires soft hands. There’s the visual contrast of the bright bunker sand against surrounding mounds, or the native fescues waving golden beside verdant turf. There’s the distinct sound of a well-struck shot, and a bird chirping in the distance, serenading eager golfers with early tee times. There’s even the taste of your favorite snack at the turn, or a cold refreshing drink, served fresh from the beverage cart with a smile. There are also the scent-sational fragrances that enhance the golf experience from start to finish.
These are the best smells in golf.

Fresh cut grass
You see the mowing lines and contrasts first and then stepping onto the course, you catch that sweet, vegetative scent of freshly mowed grass. Double-cut diamonds, a 50-50 fairway, or striped up lasers—it doesn’t matter. It’s that healthy, familiar smell that indicates that you’re standing on newly maintained turf and that manicured greens are ready for some brilliant putting.
Premium leather glove
Sliding your hand into a soft authentic leather glove is as good for your nose as it is for your swing. You can practically close your eyes and inhale the essence of cattle, cowboys, and the wild, wild west. Newly gripped leather on some hickory clubs evokes the same smooth, rustic scent. Drift into the pro shop for a different aroma, that of straight-from-the-factory swag—distinctly new, slightly sterile, and full of promise.
Food on the grill
Slightly charred and slightly pungent, nothing smells like onions sizzling on the grill. Mix in the scent of burgers, bratwurst, chicken, hot dogs, and whatever else makes your mouth water, and you are likely to find yourself at the turn or ready for the 19th hole. Smells from the grill are easy to identify, and they powerfully activate your taste buds.
Flowers
Picture places filled with your favorite flowers and recall those wonderful floral scents. Sweet roses and honeysuckle. Easygoing lavender and lilac, earthy milkweed. Lovely lilies, gardenias, freesias, and peonies. Don’t forget tree blooms—dogwood, magnolia, and tea olive, to name a few. Pollinator areas can offer an exotic complex bouquet of wildflowers, so inhale deeply as you stroll by.
Sea breeze
Bracing and salty, the sea air lets you know that coastal views are incoming. Crisp, brisk, and clinically marine, with hints of all things that swim in the mysterious depths of the ocean; the smell is distinct. The sounds of waves crashing into rocky cliffs or lapping on the beach complement this invigorating scent on the links.
Pine straw and mulch
The rusty red pine straw beds commonly found across Southern courses smell heavenly. Add a little cinnamon and it’s like Christmas candles are lining every fairway. Pine trees themselves add a lot of fragrance wherever they’re found, just keep those shots away from the sap! Mulch has that sweet, strong, borderline naturally fertilized smell, like a grounded version of gently heated brown sugar and butter. You can’t miss it.
Gasoline
You will recognize the fumes wafting from the engines of the mowers as they sharply trim the turf, the backpack blowers exuding that hot, potent odor as they move clippings and fallen leaves somewhere different—hmmm, machinery at work. The smell of gasoline is masculine, mechanical, potentially dangerous, effusive, and distinct, and it almost always means something productive is happening nearby.
Smoke
A firepit full of burning logs provides that comforting, homestead, woodsy scent across a property. The warm glow of the ashes in a pipe, or the wispy smoke ascending off of the tail of a cigar are visual clues, but you will catch the aroma of tobacco—maybe with overtones of hickory, cherry, or nuttiness—before you see the smoke. Prescribed burning is another way that smoky aromas blow across a property. Yes please, to mixing any and all of these scents with golf.
Adult beverages
Coffee’s serious bitterness may pleasantly wake us up, but the crack of a can and the smell of hops may help you feel better about your game later in the day. All hail the beverage cart! Whether it’s a strong whiskey, a glass of vintage merlot, the local brew with hints of citrus, or the lime spritz on a gin & tonic, post-round cocktails offer scents in abundance, whispering to your palate.
Fresh cut wood
Tree work abounds on many properties. Evoking the smell of the great outdoors, fresh cut wood is hard to top. Pine, cedar, oak, cherry, walnut—all these gorgeous woods have a slightly different scent, but they all bring to mind cozy cabins, stacks of firewood, forests, autumn, and an invitation to walk on the path less traveled. After your round, of course.
People
Maybe it’s the perfume from the ladies foursome wafting on the breeze, or the hard-working deodorant of the sweaty scratch handicapper that everyone loves to watch stripe it. Maybe it’s a breath mint, or rain-scented fabric softener, or someone’s soap or shampoo after a quick locker room shower. Positive people fragrances are part of the social dynamic of this great game.
What is your favorite smell in golf?