Golf numbers on the rise everywhere

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Updated: May 31, 2023

National Golf Foundation researchers have measured the health and vitality of the U.S. golf industry for more than 80 years.

Here are some statistics that they have come up with and better explain the health of the golf industry today.

• 41.1 Million – Americans age 6+ – played golf – BOTH on-course and off-course – in 2022. This record-setting total includes 25.6 million people who played on a golf course and another 15.5 million who participated exclusively in off-course golf activities at places like driving ranges, indoor golf simulators, or golf entertainment venues like Topgolf and Drive Shack.

• 3.3 million people played golf for the first time.

• 3.4 Million Juniors played golf on a course in 2022, its highest level since 2006. The 900,000 rise over the past three years is the most significant (a 36% jump) of any on-course participation segment. This segment remains more diverse than the overall golf population.

• More than one-third 37% of today’s juniors are girls compared to 15% in 2000. More than one-quarter of juniors are non-Caucasian while just 6% were minority participants just over 20 years ago.

• There were approximately 6.4 Million Female On-Course Golfers (age 6+) in 2022 The number of female golfers (adult and junior) has surpassed 6 million the past three years for the first time since prior to the financial crisis in 2007. Since 2019, the net gain in female golfers is 800,000, a 14% increase.

• 25%of on-course golfers are women. Females represent a disproportionately higher percentage of beginners (41%), juniors (37%) and off-course participants (41%) than they do in the overall golf population.

• Play increased significantly in the U.S. in 2020, 2021 and 2022.