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A new study has found that there are now more than 10 million people playing golf across Europe  – an increase of almost 35% on five years ago. 

The
second edition of the European Golf Participation Report, published by
The R&A and the European Golf Association using research conducted
by Sports Marketing Surveys, presents a more representative view of
everyone who plays golf on a full-length course (
nine or 18 holes).
 

The
report combines the number of registered golf club members and non-club
member independent golfers in each country to provide a measure of
total golfers playing the sport.
 

The
new data shows that there are over 10.6 million golfers now enjoying
playing golf in Europe, a healthy increase from the 7.9 million last
monitored for 2016.

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The
breakdown of the total golfer community combined across Europe also
reveals there are more independent golfers (59%) compared to those
golfers registered as a member with their national federation (41%),
highlighting the different ways golf is being played.
 

The
research also shows that 73% of national federations in Europe recorded
growth in registered golfers from 2019 to 2021, with the total of
registered golfers rising by more than 190,000 from 4.13 million to 4.32
million (a 4.6% growth).

New golfers are enjoying positive experiences of the sport, supported by a wide range of participation initiatives and the ability for golf to be played safely in a number of European countries during the Covid-19 pandemic to boost mental and physical health for participants.

Phil Anderton, Chief Development Officer at The R&A, said, “An overall rise in golf participation is always encouraging and with over 10.6 million golfers now enjoying the sport on full-length courses across Europe, it is clear to see that a wide range of initiatives are having a positive impact and that golfers are enjoying the healthy benefits the sport provides.

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“We believe that counting independent golfers together with those who are registered as club members gives a more accurate view of the total number of golfers playing on a full-length course each year and reflects how the sport is being consumed from country to country.”

The report, published every two years, includes data collected from the EGA’s 49 national member federations, with this year’s edition comparing participation trends to pre COVID-19 levels from 2019.

The number of women and junior golfers playing the sport has remained largely stable over the last two years, highlighting the opportunity for growth in these consumer markets.

Other key findings at a glance

– Markets that saw the greatest growth in registered golfers include England (up by 63,500) and Sweden (up by 54,589).

– A total of nine markets – largely among emerging golfing nations – saw growth in registered golfers of over 30%, with Latvia and Belarus achieving over 150% growth.

– The markets with the highest proportion of total golfers in the population include Iceland (17.7%), Scotland (10.9%), England (8%) and Ireland (7.8%).

– Combined registered women golfers across Europe increased by 13,000 (to just over 1 million), with the proportion of registered golfers in Europe narrowly declining from 27% to 26%.

– Germany (221,865), Sweden (129,949) and the Netherlands (125,537) are the top three markets for the number of registered women golfers.

– Combined registered junior golfers across Europe increased by over 43,000 (to more than 350,000), with the proportion of registered golfers in Europe relatively stable at 8%.

– Sweden (61,839), England (45,304) and Germany (41,212) are the top three markets for the number of registered junior golfers.

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