Ever wondered how big the golf industry really is?
From humble Scottish beginnings to becoming a globally recognized sport, golf has a rich history and a significant economic impact. As of 2024, the U.S. golf industry is worth a staggering $84 billion, which demonstrates its enduring popularity.
We’ve dug through annual reports, blog posts, and research from the USGA and beyond to round up the most important up-to-date golf statistics for 2024.
Use the contents below to jump to a section, or keep reading for our top golf stats!
Golf Participation Statistics
These golf participation stats may surprise you. Golf is booming!
1. 119 million people in the U.S. engaged in golf in some form in 2022
In 2022, golf’s overall reach was an estimated 119 million U.S. residents.
This represents people who either played golf (on-course or off-course), watched golf on TV or online, read about golf, or listened to a golf-related podcast.
That’s a staggering one-third of the entire U.S. population!
Source: NGF
2. 25.6 million people in the U.S. played on a golf course in 2022
This is equivalent to 8% of the U.S. population and represents the highest number of participants in more than a decade.
Source: Statista
3. The number of U.S. golfers with a handicap exceeded 3 million in 2022
The number of golfers in the U.S. with a Handicap Index in 2022 was 3,026,528. This represents a 16% increase since 2020 when the total was around 2.5 million.
Source: The USGA
4. There were over 74 million rounds of golf posted in the U.S. in 2022
For three consecutive years, the U.S. has registered over 74 million rounds of golf.
The 2022 total indicates a minor decline from the 77 million rounds recorded in 2021, a year when numbers were boosted by the surge during the COVID period. However, this still represents a growth of almost 1.5 million from the rounds posted in 2020.
Source: The USGA
5. 13.5% of rounds played in the U.S. in 2022 were on 9-hole courses
9-hole golf is on the rise! Those with newly-established handicaps played 9-hole golf 24.6% of the time, while female golfers played 9 holes 45.7% of the time.
Source: The USGA
6. The most 18-hole rounds played in a year by one golfer was 541
Serious commitment — what more can be said? This number surpassed the 528 figure set in 2021. The most for a female golfer in 2022 was 414 rounds.
Source: The USGA
7. Florida recorded 10 million rounds in 2022 — more than any U.S. state
The United States is home to the most golf courses in the world. It’s no surprise that Florida held the most rounds since it has more courses than any other state!
Here’s a list of the top 10 golf states based on the number of rounds in 2022:
- Florida: 10,022,137
- California: 9,027,345
- Texas: 3,633,425
- Arizona: 3,464,905
- North Carolina: 3,134,603
- New York: 2,615,720
- South Carolina: 2,606,294
- Massachusetts: 2,451,487
- Pennsylvania: 2,157,421
- Georgia: 2,032,946
Source: The USGA
8. 5.6 million adults played golf in the U.K. in 2022
In 2022, 5.6 million adult golfers played on full-length courses (9 or 18 holes) in Great Britain and Ireland. This figure rose by 265,000 from 5.3 million in 2021.
This is the second-highest number since monitoring began over 30 years ago.
Source: The R&A
9. 20% of U.K. golfers were female in 2022, up from 15% in 2019
New data shows that female adult participation levels are on the rise as national federations work hard to encourage more women and girls into the sport.
Source: The R&A
10. Rounds played in the U.K. in 2022 were the highest in 10 years
In Great Britain, the number of rounds played per month for the full 12 months was the highest in 2022 of the last ten years.
Source: The R&A
11. The number of U.K. rounds played in 2022 was up 24% from 2019
In the UK, the average rounds played in 2022 were 6% up from 2021 and a whopping 24% up from pre-Covid 2019.
Source: The R&A
12. 229,414 U.S. high school students participated in golf in 2022
This was the highest on-course participation in over 10 years. Over 60% were boys.
Source: Statista
Golf Club & Course Statistics
Next, let’s dive into the data on golf courses and country clubs.
13. There are 16,000 golf courses at 14,000 facilities in the U.S.
That’s more golf courses than in any country in the world.
Source: NGF
14. The market size of U.S. golf & country clubs was $27.2 billion in 2023
In 2023, the total market size of golf courses and country clubs in the United States amounted to around $27.24 billion.
Source: Statista
15. Golf course revenues in the U.K were £2.2 billion in 2022
This represented a slight annual decline of 0.3% from the previous year.
Source: Ibis World
16. Around 75% of golf facilities in the U.S. are publicly accessible
That includes over 2,500 municipal courses and 7,700 taking daily greens fees.
Source: NGF
17. The number of courses in the U.S. has dropped by 12% since 2006
In the years leading up to 2006, the golf course supply in the U.S. rose by approximately 40% off the back of the “Tiger boom.” Since then, the number has contracted by 12%.
Sadly, this reduction has been disproportionately concentrated on value-priced courses offering a sub-$40 greens fee.
Source: NGF
Golf Equipment Statistics
More participation calls for more equipment — let’s dive into the details.
18. Global golf equipment sales exceeded $20 billion in 2021
In 2021, revenue figures in the global golf equipment and apparel industry exceeded $20 billion for the first time — $20.451 billion precisely.
This represents a huge $5 billion increase from 2020 sales figures.
This accounts for all sorts of golf gear — including clubs, balls, apparel, shoes, gloves, head covers, repair tools, training aids, and more.
Source: Golf Datatech LLC & Yano Research Institute Ltd
19. The U.S. and Japan combine to represent more than 66% of the global golf equipment market
The top 5 world golf markets are:
- United States
- Japan
- South Korea
- United Kingdom
- Canada
Source: Golf Datatech LLC & Yano Research Institute Ltd
20. Koreans spend more on golf equipment per capita than any country
With a surge in the popularity of both traditional and indoor golf formats, along with a high-earning population, the South Korean golf equipment market is booming.
Source: Golf Datatech LLC & Yano Research Institute Ltd
21. The revenue of Callaway Golf exceeded $3.1 billion in 2021
This represents almost double the revenue from the previous year!
Callaway is the largest golf equipment manufacturer in the world, but the recent acquisition of Topgolf has exploded the company’s growth.
Broken down by MyGolfSpy, we can see that around $1.2 billion of the total is attributed to golf equipment, with Topgolf accounting for $1 billion alone.
Source: Statista
Golf Tourism Statistics
Now, let’s cover the tourism side of the game with the latest golf travel statistics.
22. The U.S. golf travel industry was valued at $20.5 billion in 2022
After a couple of devastating years during Covid-19, the golf travel industry bounced back in 2022 and was valued at around $20.5 billion in the U.S. alone.
Source: NGF
23. The global golf tourism market is expected to hit $41 billion by 2030
This represents a CAGR of 7.6% in the years leading up to 2030.
Source: Business Wire
24. There are more than 38,000 golf courses in the world
Specifically, 38,081 courses. More than 16,000 of them are in the United States.
| Rank | Country | Golf Courses | Square Miles | Courses Per Square Mile |
| 1 | United States | 16,156 | 3,618,783 | 0.004 |
| 2 | Japan | 3,140 | 145,936 | 0.022 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 3,101 | 94,058 | 0.033 |
| 4 | Canada | 2,564 | 3,855,101 | 0.001 |
| 5 | Australia | 1,584 | 2,969,906 | 0.001 |
| 6 | Germany | 1,054 | 137,847 | 0.008 |
| 7 | France | 811 | 213,011 | 0.004 |
| 8 | South Korea | 810 | 38,691 | 0.021 |
| 9 | Sweden | 650 | 204,035 | 0.003 |
| 10 | China | 617 | 3,747,877 | 0.000 |
Source: Pitchmarks
25. Golf tourism in Asia is expected to grow the fastest — by 8% annually
Rising demand for outdoor leisure activity will fuel the growth of Asian golf tourism.
Source: Future Market Insights
PGA Tour Statistics
Here, I’ll dive into some key stats for the 2022 PGA Tour season.
26. Scottie Scheffler’s $14m PGA Tour earnings were the highest in 2022
Top of the list of earnings on the 2022 PGA Tour was Scottie Scheffler, who banked a whopping $14.05 million across the season.
Cam Smith was second with $10.11m, while Will Zalatoris claimed third with $9.41m.
Source: Statista
27. Tiger Woods tops the all-time PGA Tour earnings with $120,954,766
Tiger’s domination sets him well ahead of second-placed Rory McIlroy’s $75 million.
Source: PGA Tour
28. The Masters 2023 final round averaged 12.06 million viewers
This was up 19% from the previous year, and the highest since 2018.
Source: Golf Digest
29. There have been 12 sub-60 rounds shot in PGA Tour history
Jim Furyk has shot the only 58, and there are 11 scores of 59 in history.
Source: PGA Tour
LIV Golf Statistics
And finally, key stats for the 2022 LIV Golf season.
30. The prize money awarded to the 2022 LIV Golf winner was $35.6m
Dustin Johnson took home the $35.6 million by playing less than eight events.
Source: Statista
31. 43% of adults in the U.S. perceived LIV Golf to be sportwashing
In 2022, 43% of respondents in the United States believed that the LIV Golf tour looked like sportswashing — 19% believed the opposite, while 38% stated: “don’t know.”
Source: Statista
32. Only 22.3% of golf fans approve of the controversial LIV Golf
During a GolfLink survey in 2022, there was just a 22.3% approval rating.
Source: GolfLink
