Half-way through 2024, the National Golf Foundation is reporting that the number of rounds of golf played in the US is trending 2% ahead of the mid-year total from 2023 — a year during which more rounds of golf were played at US courses than any time in history.
Although representing only a modest year-over-year increase, the NGF, a leading US golf business research and consulting firm, says the bigger picture reveals the demand for recreational golf continues to reside in record territory. And the numbers continue to reinforce that the industry is enjoying a ‘new normal’ when it comes to play.
The NGF says that in only three of the previous 49 months did rounds fail to outperform their pre-pandemic equivalents (using 2017-2019 monthly averages as the basis for comparison), with unusually poor weather being responsible all three of those underperforming months.
More importantly, golf continues to thrive during the peak season months of May through September. Using pre-Covid comparisons, play has been up a minimum of 13% in every peak season month dating back to 2020. Rounds are up an average of 17% during the 22 peak season months over the past five years.
