Study reveals youth golf participation in US is soaring

New data has detailed a promising future for golf in America, as research shows participation levels in youths are on the rise.

An annual report conducted by the Aspen Institute, an organisation behind humanistic studies, compared figures between 2019 and 2022.

Measuring core participation in kids between the ages of six and 12, the study shows that golf is gradually increasing in participation levels.

Core participation was defined as those children who play regularly a number of times per year.

The 2019 to 2022 change has been noted as 32.6%, while 1.7 million kids participated in golf in 2022.

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Only 4.6% of the measured demographic participated in 2019, but that figure for last year now stands at 6.1%.

Golf data was provided by National Golf Foundation, which has the world’s largest dedicated golf research team.

Golf was found to have the second biggest increase in percentage change from 2019 to 2022, only behind tennis.

Only baseball, basketball, football and tennis had a greater number of kids playing the sport in 2022.

The report also highlighted that while gender participation is headed in the opposite direction, boys (40%) are still more likely to participate in sports than girls (35%).

Core participation numbers were registered for people aged 13-17, too, showing the largest percentage increase in participation in all sports.

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It’s up 49.1%, with 7.9% of the demographic playing golf in 2022. Only baseball, basketball and tennis had more people playing the respective sport than golf.

A similar post-pandemic golf boom has hit Great Britain and Ireland in recent times, as well.

Data from the R&A, published in March 2023, shows golf participation sitting well above the rates before the pandemic.

In 2019, there were 3.7 million on-course adult golfers in GB&I, but by 2022, that had increased to 5.6 million – a 50% increase.

Tournament attendance has followed a similar pattern, as the DP World Tour, Ladies European Tour and the R&A combined to highlight increases in ticket sales.

Attendance figures for the BMW PGA Championship, the Genesis Scottish Open, the Horizon Irish Open and the Betfred British Masters were up 11% in 2022.