Golf sees huge increase on pre-Covid participation

Participation in golf across the UK and Ireland is continuing to surge, according to new figures. 

Data released by BRS Golf shows the number of rounds played in the first nine months of this year is 81% higher than 2019.

It also shows year-on-year growth against both 2020 and 2021, although both included Covid-19 lockdowns which stopped play in some parts of the UK.

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The number of rounds booked through BRS between January and September was 19.6million, compared to 8.7million in the whole of 2019.

Wales saw the largest increase in play of any part of the UK, up 158% on 2019 with 367,000 rounds booked. Northern Ireland also saw a 117% increase to 544,000, while rounds in England rose by 99% to 3.6million.

The 18-35 age group was found to be both the largest and fastest-growing demographic, booking 28.4% of rounds, while more than a quarter were booked by women.

2022 so far has also seen a shift back towards weekend golf. In 2020, when the pandemic first took hold, the percentage of rounds played on weekdays rose from 53% to 63%. However, that has since fallen to 57% which BRS puts down to “golfers returning to their pre-pandemic schedules”.

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Demand for visitor tee times has also remained consistently high, with BRS’s GolfNow reporting £8.85million in green fees and 360,000 rounds played between January and September.

Revenue generated by visitor tee times has earned clubs £1million or more for six consecutive months, according to the platform’s data, while the average green fee has also risen by 25% since 2019.