Golf – The Game

The growth of golf recently has been nothing short of astounding! Take a look at some of the statistics and consider that these are in the US alone!

Interesting Golf Statistics

• Some 123 million people over age six played golf on either a golf course or at a range last year. 
• Last year saw some 3.5 million NEW golfers take up golf as a hobby.
• Over 3.5 million juniors played on a golf course in 2023.  
• 26% of all on-course golfers are female.
• Women now comprise 40% of all newgolfers.
• There were some 530 million rounds of played in 2023.  That’s 1.4 million a day! This is up 15% since pre-pandemic days. 

• The US currently has 16,000 golf courses and 14,000 off-course facilities.
• There are 3,300 Driving Ranges in the US
• 75% of all golf courses are now open to the public. This is not to indicate that all the “public” access courses are affordable (Pebble Beach is public…if you have $1000 to spend on a round next year)

• In 2023, the US saw $1.98 billion in wholesale sales of golf clubs 
• In 2023, the US spent $1 Billion in wholesale sales of golf balls.  
• Both golf clubs and golf ball sales represent an astonishing 51% INCREASE since before the pandemic. 
• There are over 1 BILLION golf balls produced in the US each year!!!
• There are over 580 million golf balls sold each year in the US.
• There are some 300 million balls lost every year in this country!
• Putter sales: Up 32% in units and 36% in dollars since 2020.
• Wedge sales: Up 64% in units and 74% in dollars since 2020
• Irons: Up 83% in units and 93% in dollars since 2020.
• Woods: Up 5% in units and 10% in dollars 
• There were approximately 169 million golf balls hit per day last year 

• According to the USGA, the average male handicap is 14.2. For women, that number is 27.5.
• A handicap of four or less ranks you in the top eight percent of all golfers.
• Scratch (or better) golfers represent less than two percent of all players.
• It’s estimated that 90 percent of golfers do not carry an official handicap. 
• It is reasonable to assume that the 10% of golfers who do carry a handicap are more skilled than those who do not.
• Note: Handicap is based on ability to score, not average score
• Low-handicap golfers will average a score four to five strokes per round higher than their index. Higher handicap golfers will average a score 6-8 strokes higher than their index.

• There are approximately 17,000,000 male golfers, of whom 2,500,000 have registered handicaps.
• Women have approximately 6,000,000 golfers, of whom almost 4,000,000 have registered handicaps.