Written by Rachael Sheinfeld
The golf industry is constantly growing and evolving, with today’s avid golfers ensuring its longevity and place within competitive and recreational sports. The game that we all love has never been more popular. Since the playing boom in 2020, golf has been steadily growing in popularity with total golf participation eclipsing 40 million in the U.S. for the first time in 2022. We’ve included key trends to keep an eye on and how to discover new ways to drive more bookings for your course or club.
Four golf industry trends you need know in 2024:
- Women are helping to drive golf’s popularity
In our recent study, The New Era of Golf: Consumer Insights Study, we dug into key consumer insights and uncovered golfers’ attitudes and behaviors–on and off the golf course. We found that women and girls are responsible for creating a big impact in the game of golf with women making up 49% of the 4,000 golfers polled. Of the total golfers surveyed, we also discovered that 67% reported that they’ve been playing golf for 4+ years–and this number increases to 74% among GolfNow users.
The Washington Post also confirms the growing impact of female golfers, citing that “more than one-third of junior players today are girls.” Additionally, according to the National Golf Foundation, 800,000 American women from 2020 to 2022 participated in golf, creating a 15% rise in female golfers, compared to only a 2% rise in male golfers during the same time.
2. Today’s golfers are mostly playing with friends
We know that golf is a shared experience but in recent years, we’ve watched the game grow into a truly social sport. Digging into golfer behavior on and off the course, we found that 49% of the 4,000 golfers surveyed primarily play golf with their friends. We also found that GolfNow users in particular are more inclined to play a round of golf with business associates or business prospects than the general golfing public.
Golf course managers and club owners looking to add more bookings can leverage this information to assist in more tailored messaging for golfer outreach, club communications, and marketing!
Want to dive deeper into these golf industry trends?
3. Golf lesson bookings are on the rise.
No one can deny that golf is a competitive sport, and even if a golfer doesn’t have their hopes set on going pro one day, they still care about improving their game. A third of golfers surveyed (36%) said they took a golf lesson in the past year, with that number increasing to over two thirds (67%) for GolfNow users. We also found that the average golfer usually takes a lesson at the course, whereas GolfNow users prefer a combination of on-course and non-golf course training facility lessons.
On and off the course, trends are showing a higher demand and interest in learning to improve their golf game.
4. Booking tee times online continues to be the preferred method for younger golfers.
With the increasing availability of tech offerings, more golfers than ever are looking to make their booking experiences as seamless as everything else they do online. In The New Era of Golf: Consumer Insights Study, we found that golfers aged 18-34 ranked amongst the highest online bookers with 43% sharing that they booked at least one round online in the last year. When asked why they prefer to book their tee times online, 55% reported that it’s the quickest way to book.
Key Takeaways for your golf course or club:
The popularity of golf continues to grow with more rounds played and booked daily. With noticeable gains in participation being maintained over the past several years, the future of golf is bright. As more golfers begin to embrace technology to improve their golfing customer experience, course operators need to make sure they’re staying on top of the latest industry trends and tech solutions. Our in-depth study, The New Era of Golf: Consumer Insights Study, has helped uncover some incredible insights into how golf is played across the county, and how golf courses and golf clubs like yours can continue to reach and attract more active players.