Every year, the National Golf Foundation releases a golf industry report to compile statistics regarding the current state of the golf industry and overall health of the game.
We’ve analyzed the data collected and given our breakdown of the Top-5 most important — and promising — takeaways from this year’s report.
Looking for a rundown on the health of the #golf industry? From the number of Americans playing, watching and spending to a full accounting of U.S. courses & facilities (and so much more), the annual Golf Industry Report has you covered: https://t.co/KCA9HEuwFy pic.twitter.com/C4svaDSTvM
— NGF (@NGF_GolfBizInfo) April 18, 2019
- Overall Participation – 33.5 million people participated in golf activities in 2018, including off-course activities such as Topgolf and indoor simulators. This makes golf the No. 1 pay-for-play individual sport in the United States.
While not at pre-Great Recession levels, #golf is experiencing a stabilization in on-course participation, with a new support level around 24 million golfers. And total golf participation climbed to 33.5M last year. #growthegame pic.twitter.com/XBv39j3AGq
— NGF (@NGF_GolfBizInfo) April 19, 2019
- Diversity – The sport is becoming increasingly more diverse, as the percentage of women playing the game has increased to 23% with 31% of all beginners being female and non-caucasian participation has increased to 18% with 26% of all beginners in the minority.
- Junior Participation – 2.5 million junior golfers participated in golf activities in 2018, with 2.2 million participating exclusively off-course. 36% of these juniors are girls, compared to 15% in 2000, and one-quarter are non-Caucasian, while only 6% were minority participants 20 years ago.
Around 2.5 million juniors played golf (on a course) last year in the US. While this number has consistently been between 2.5M and 3M for the past decade, the junior #golf ranks look quite a bit different than 20 years ago. #growthegame pic.twitter.com/5TKB5XdEqU
— NGF (@NGF_GolfBizInfo) April 24, 2019
- Product Market – The market for golf clubs and balls has surpassed $2.7 billion; an increase of 6% from 2017.
- Reach – A total reach of 107 million people for the sport represents over one-third of the U.S. population over the age of 5.
Exactly how big can the off-course #golf market get? The number of participants and venues continues to grow, from golf-entertainment facilities like @Topgolf and @driveshack to simulator locations popping up around the country. https://t.co/ijy9IYMcYa pic.twitter.com/1p5t3JWRIm
— NGF (@NGF_GolfBizInfo) April 17, 2019
