New study shows HUGE increase in number of golfers worldwide

The number of adults playing golf around the world has grown by more than three million over the past year, according to a new study.

Participation figures released by the R&A show that there are now more than 42.7 million adults playing on 18-hole and nine-hole courses in R&A affiliated markets (i.e. not including the USA and Mexico).

This is a 3.1 million increase on the 2023 numbers and demonstrates that the post-COVID surge enjoyed by the sport is showing no signs of slowing down.

Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that this growth trend is now accelerating faster than during the 2020-2022 ‘pandemic years’, when there was an average of 2.5 million new ‘on-course’ golfers per annum.

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Even more significantly, the latest figures constitute a remarkable 44% rise on the 2016 total, when there were 29.6 million adult ‘on-course’ players in the equivalent markets.

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 when tracking such participation began.

Commenting on the findings, Phil Anderton, the Chief Development Officer at The R&A, remarked : “Golf’s popularity continues to grow with a significant increase in the number of people playing the sport both on and off the course.

“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.

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“New golfer participation programmes 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 overall reported are in:

1. Japan (11.4 million)
2. Republic of Korea (8.7 million)
3. Canada (6.3 million)
4. England (4.2 million)
5. 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.

Other findings…

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% since 2020. Registered women golfers have grown from 1.5 million in 2020 to 1.6 million in 2023.

There was a decrease in those adults who only played formats other than 9 or 18-hole golf – 21.6 million in 2022 to 19.6 million in 2023 – but this is likely to positively reflect on those moving instead to full-length on-course golf.

The percentage of golfers only using alternative formats that are women did grow from 47% in 2022 to 52% in 2023, specifically in key golfing markets.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor