Report sheds light on world golf industry
Print Edition
The world was home to 34,011 golf courses and facilities at the start of this year, the sport’s ruling body, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Scotland — usually referred to simply as the R&A — revealed in a new report issued in March.
It was the first time that such a report had been commissioned and comes at a time when the sport is growing globally and will return to the Olympic fold at Rio de Janeiro next year.
The US-based National Golf Foundation spent four years looking at the global development of the game, with funding by the R&A.
Of the world’s golf facilities 79 percent are located in 10 countries — the United States, Japan, Canada, England, Australia, Germany, France, Scotland, South Africa and Sweden.
Although the United States is home to 45 percent of the world’s golf facilities and Europe to 22 percent, the report also states that there are 50 countries with only one golf facility compared to 30 with more than 100 and eight (outside of the US) with more than 500.
The report tracks the development of golf worldwide and finds that 696 golf courses are under construction or in advance planning.
While 80 percent of these new projects are in Asia, Europe and North America, there are clear signs the sport is spreading with countries such as Belarus, Azerbaijan and Georgia opening their first golf courses in the last two years. There are also initial courses under construction in countries as diverse as Macedonia and Sao Tome and Principe.
Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A said, “The new report provides a fascinating insight into the development of golf around the world and gives us a precise measure of the number of facilities for the first time.
“It will provide a benchmark for future monitoring and enable us to identify areas of potential growth.”
The report said that golf remains “largely accessible,” with 71 percent of the 34,011 facilities being open to the public.
The report will be produced biennially and will allow monitoring of the sport’s development in future years.
The US is experiencing a gradual decline in the number of golf courses in the country as the market corrects an oversupply created between the 1960s and the early 2000s, according to the global report.
The current total of 15,372 courses in the US is down from a peak of 16,052 following a “gradual, but steady, market correction,” the report said. Although there are 153 projects in various stages of development, the number of new courses being opened is at an all-time low.
The trend in new golf developments in Europe appears to be toward short, compact courses — comprising six, nine or 12 holes — that are public and family-friendly.
Asia covers 31 percent of the total land on earth, and is home to around 14 percent of the world’s golf supply. Japan alone accounts for 50 percent of the region’s total golf facility supply of 2,383. China, one of the fastest growing golf countries in the world, has 473 facilities. Asia is home to the most new golf projects in the world with 207 courses under development. Of Asia’s 53 golfing countries, 27 have at least one new project in development.
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