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If you thought there was any chance of golf’s Covid boom deteriorating, think again.

Research by tee time booking service providers BRS Golf and Golf Now show that 2023 is on course to break the record for the most rounds played by club members in a calendar year in the UK and Ireland.

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Data from more than 1,500 golf clubs in the British Isles is being collected on a quarterly basis, and while the numbers were slightly down for the period of July to September – mainly due to a summer of poor weather – nearly 21 million member rounds were recorded in the first nine months of the year.

That’s a 6% increase on 2023, a 17% increase on 2021, a 22% increase on 2020, and – most significantly – a 93% increase on 2019.

Each territory is playing their part, too, with member rounds up 10% in Scotland, 9% in Wales, 6% in England, and 5% in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

BRS Golf is saying it is forecasting the number to reach the 26 million mark by the end of December, which would be a 5% year-on-year increase.