England Golf has reported some key gains that have taken place during 2023 on the back of golf’s continued post-pandemic boom.
There have been some notable increases over the past 12 months in England, with General Play scores having risen by 2.09 per cent in 2023, and 9-hole scores increase by 7% compared to 2022. Across the past 12 months, over nine million scores were submitted.
With increased awareness and easier compatibility within the MyEG app, 2023 has seen an increase of more than 21 per cent of scores being entered through the app. Over 2.3 million scores have been logged through the app, including a 20 per cent increase in usage by girls/women.
Since introducing interoperability to the MyEG app, which allows players to input scores across all golf clubs in GB&I, 50,115 scores has been submitted by EG members on Welsh, Irish or Scottish courses, representing an 82% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Rounds played by members of other GB&I countries at courses in England was also up by 23%.
Since the inception of iGolf, England Golf has now seen over 60,000 people sign up for the platform, which allows casual golfers to maintain a Handicap Index. The introduction of iGolf was designed to create a pathway for individuals to go on to club membership – with over 7,700 people (12%) having done just that.
A survey of 11,000 England Golf members and iGolf members has revealed some key trends, including that 86 per cent played for ‘social purposes’, such as spending time with friends, while 83 per cent play for individual reasons such as improving physical health.