Gigantic global golf growth

The R&A announced new participation figures revealing an increase of more than three million adult golfers playing the sport. 

According to new research undertaken for the governing body, there are now 42.7 million on-course, 9- and 18-hole golfers in R&A-affiliated markets outside the United States and Mexico.

The research figures for 2023 indicate a growth of 3.1 million on-course golfers since 2022. The growth trend began before the onset of COVID-19 and is now accelerating faster than the 2020-2022 pandemic period when there was an average of 2.5 million new on-course golfers per annum. The sport continues to increase in popularity, now up 44 percent from 29.6 million on-course players in 2016.

The new data is provided by national federations in The R&A’s affiliated markets in Asia, Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania.

The research also shows that 62.3 million adults (outside the USA and Mexico) consume the sport in some format, an increase of 1.1 million since 2022. It is just the second time an estimate has been made beyond on-course activity to include alternative-only formats, such as pitch & putt, indoor simulator golf and driving range use.

“Golf’s popularity continues to grow with a significant increase in the number of people playing the sport both on and off the course,” The R&A chief development officer Phil Anderton said. “There are now 13 million more golfers playing on the course since 2016 in R&A affiliated markets, while there are also millions of others enjoying alternative formats of golf, such as driving ranges, adventure golf and simulator golf, which are vital to the growth of the sport.

“New golfer participation programs with appealing propositions, promotion and imagery are important for encouraging more people into the sport and retaining them in greater numbers. This is why we continue to work collaboratively with our affiliated national federations and stakeholders to build on this momentum and ensure golf continues to thrive.”

The top five on-course adult golfer markets outside the United States, according to the report, are Japan (11.4 million), Republic of Korea (8.7 million), Canada (6.3 million), England (4.2 million) and Germany (2.4 million).

Asia is the leading region for people engaging with golf among R&A affiliated regions, with total adult engagement in golf of 26.2 million. Europe is next highest with 19.7 million adults having some form of golf engagement.

The number of adult registered golfers (those members of a golf club within their national association or affiliated through a direct subscription) increased from 8 million in 2022 to 8.2 million in 2023, with an overall growth of 10 percent since 2020. Registered women golfers have grown from 1.5 million in 2020 to 1.6 million in 2023.