New golf participation data for the third quarter of 2023 in the Great Britain has revealed that more rounds were played for most of July to September than in any previous year with the exception of 2020.
After a sluggish start to the year, 2023 rounds played across Great Britain remain well clear of pre-pandemic numbers, in the latest sign that golf’s pandemic participation boom has reset the baseline appetite for the game.
According to a report issued by Sporting Insights, only January of the first nine months of the year saw a dip against 2019 figures, while the remainder of the year has so far seen 2023 track and often exceed the totals seen outside lockdowns during the period 2020-2022.
September was the quarter’s strongest performing month, both against 2022 (up 10%) and against 2019 (up 55%).
Quarterly rounds played across Great Britain were up 5% compared to Q3 2022, pushing the year to date total 3% ahead of 2022. The year-to-date average of 2,910 rounds played per course per month means there are 646 more rounds per course per month being played – or an extra of 21 more people per day.
The report suggests that initiatives such as iGolf, Openplay and Flexigolf schemes for independent golfers in England, Scotland and Wales were playing a significant role in providing routes for non-members and newer golfers to track improvement and access competitive golf, helping those people to stay in the game.
Last month saw BRS Golf, golf’s leading provider of tee time management booking technology, report a strong first half of 2023 for both member play and visitor play in the UK and Ireland, with more rounds played so far this year than in the whole of 2019.