The number of golf club members in the UK and Ireland has dropped according to the KPMG Golf Participation Report for Europe 2019.
The report, which provides invaluable figures regarding the supply and demand trends in Europe for 2018, is the latest of KPMG’s annual publications offering analysis and insights into Europe’s golf industry.
The report, which analyses data provided from European countries’ respective golf associations, shows how Europe has lost almost 25,000 (0.6%) registered players since 2017, while the number of affiliated golf courses in Europe remained stable (-3).
England, which has the largest number of registered golfers in Europe, has lost 10,688 (1.63%) of its registered players between 2017 and 2018. The total number has fallen from 655,839 to 645,151.
The statistics are worse in Scotland, which lost 4% of its registered golfers between 2017 and 2018. There were 187,802 club members in Scotland, but now that number is down to 180,281. Wales reported a similar drop off, with membership numbers down over 4% from 44,551 to 42,743.
Ireland, which also includes Northern Ireland due to the Golfing Union of Ireland encapsulating the entire island, offers a more stable picture, with numbers down just 0.58% from 183,461 in 2017 to 182,398 last year.
None of these figures take into account casual players or golfers who are not members of clubs.
Germany, the nation with the second-highest number of registered golfers in Europe, reported a total of 642,240 club members, down just 0.42% on 2017.
Sweden has the third largest number of golfers with 461,404, France the fourth with 412,726, Netherlands fifth with 396,299, and Spain sixth with 269,470.
Of the top ten nations, just one, the Netherlands, has seen an increase in its number of club members, up by 2.25% to 8,702. Austria (5.88%), Norway (2.28%) and Italy (1.1%) have also reported increases in their number of registered golfers.
Based on the survey, the gender distribution of registered golfers in Europe is constant – 68% male adults, 25% female adults and 7% juniors.
For more details on the KPMG Golf Participation Report for Europe 2019, visit www.golfbenchmark.com or click here.