Golf Is Doing Just Fine

I saw the post above on one of the social media platforms, and from the comments, it seems that a lot of people think golf is in the middle of some sort of crisis. Indeed, the initial post seems to imply that golf is being hurt.

Who’s hurting golf?

No one. Golf is doing just fine.

Indeed, it is perhaps healthier than it has ever been.

Participation Is Up

The National Golf Foundation says that total participation through the end of 2024 was up 38% from 2019, and 5% from 2023. If the numbers are broken down to “on course” and “off course” both are still significantly up.

Youth participation is up. Young adult participation is up. Female participation is up.

“People of color” participation is up, according to the National Golf Foundation. I’m not sure who they count as “people of color,” but at the very least it includes African Americans and Hispanic Americans.

The NGF says that 64 million people played either on- or off-course in 2024.

With golf simulators, places like Top Golf, the growth in short courses and putting courses there now are more ways to play than ever before.

Golf Course Construction Continues

Seventy new courses opened in 2024, according to the PGA of America (as an aside, the PGA of America is NOT the same thing as the PGA TOUR).

Twenty three opened in 2023.

Hundreds more are being renovated, restored or spruced up.

Golf course closures are still greater than openings, but the National Golf Foundation says that gap is narrowing over the last several years.

Golf Travel Is Up

Golf Travel is booming. Again, the National Golf Foundation says that 12 million Americans traveled to play golf in 2024, up from 8 million in 2018.

On a purely anecdotal level, a director at a prominent golf resort told me that in 2025, they are booking more than a year out.

More anectodal evidence: golf resorts are opening and expanding all over the country. In Michigan, Boyne added a short course and a putting course. Arcadia Bluffs added a 12 hole course. Forest Dunes is adding a third course.

Elsewhere, Bandon Dunes, McLemore, Gamble Sands, Big Cedar Lodge, Cabot Citrus Farms, French Lick and more are adding or have added new courses in recent years.

There are more people traveling for golf than ever before.

Equipment Sales Are Up

MyGolfSpy reports that golf equipment sales in 2024 were up 40% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

GolfDatatech says that in 2023, golf apparel sales reached an all time high.

With online retailers, direct-to-consumer companies joining traditional green grass pro shops, there are more places to buy golf than ever before. The PGA Superstore has opened 30 new stores since 2020. Now at 74 locations in 22 states, they plan to add eight more in 2025.

There are more ways to buy golf gear than ever before.

On the professional level, the PGA TOUR is experiencing a bounce back in ratings. LIV shows no signs of disappearing.

There is much more coverage of tournaments than ever before. When I was growing up, all we saw of the Masters was a couple of hours of the back nine on Saturdays and Sundays. Now, every tournament has four-day coverage. We are very quickly approaching the point where one can watch every shot by their favorite player at every tournament.

But golf (as with so many things) is growing elsewhere.

YouTube golf is booming. Rick Shiels has 3 million subscribers. Bryson Dechambeau has 2.1 million subscribers. Good Good Golf has 1.8 million subscribers. The PGA TOUR has 1.6 million subscribers. Grace Charis has 1.5 million subscribers. Grant Horvat has 1 million. DP World Tour has 525 subscribers. LIV has 397k subscribers.

Those are all good numbers, as far as I’m concerned. I wish my blog had 397k subscribers.

TikTok golf, I assume, is also a popular thing. I don’t have the app and have not interest in it. The aforementioned Grace Charis has 3 million followers, though. There have got to be others.

I don’t think the fact that younger viewers have turned to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram for golf content is bad. It’s just different. I learned what I know by reading books and magazines. My kids learn by watching videos. I worry sometimes that the videos they watch are produced by idiots or malefactors, but so far, from what I can tell, they are reasonably and factually well informed. In my day, magazines in particular could be factually biased or just flat out make stuff up.

The only way to deal with informational malfeasance is to do as Reagan said: “Trust, but verify.”

As far as I can tell, my kids are choosing their feeds wisely. I’ve quizzed them. They pass.

The bottom line: There are more ways to watch golf than ever before.

Golf Is Deeply Ingrained In Our Culture

As much as any sport, golf is deeply ingrained in our culture. It appears on television, in movies, books and artifacts.

I’ve seen it in Sesame Street, on The Last of Us, Yellowstone, Hacks, the new Roadhouse, the Barbie Movie, Ozark, Better Call Saul, Star Trek: Next Generation, Animal House, The Walking Dead, The Mummy, Looney Toons, Disney toons and dozens of other shows.

I love thrift stores, and every time I visit, I see half-a-dozen golf related items.

“Par for the course” is a phrase I’ve heard from non-golfers.

Indeed, I’ve been chronicling golf’s appearances in a series of posts: Golf is Everywhere.

Where’s The Disconnect?

The original social media post — and its replies — made me think that there is a disconnect somewhere.

What the poster probably meant is: who is hurting golf more? Jay Monahan or LIV?

Monahan has become a villain to the LIV crowd the way Volodymyr Zelensky has become a villain to MAGA. Bin Salman Al Saud is a villain to the other side.

That’s the wrong way to look at the game of golf, however. Golf is not the PGA TOUR or LIV. Golf is the ten of millions of people who pay to play the game. It is fundamentally different from the NFL, MLB or NBA. Those are primarily spectator sports. Golf is a participatory sport.

There are 1 million high school football players. There are 72,000 college players and 1, 696 NFL players.

There were 28 MILLION green grass golfers in 2024 and 64 million when off course players are included. Indeed, there were three times as many first time golfers as there football players at all levels.

Golf is played by people from age three to a hundred. Football is over for the vast majority by age 18. (BTW, the NFL knows this, thus their interest in “flag football.”)

Where’s The Downside?

I will note that I have a number of golfing friends who are in a “shrink the game” mindset. There also were a significant numebr of replies to the original post who cited difficulty getting tee times, crowded courses and slow play as an answer to “Who’s hurting golf right now.”

While those can be annoying — particularly to longtime and skilled players — I think the balance is on the positive side of the ledger. A lack of players will resort in course closures instead of openings, fewer choices in equipment, fewer resorts and fewer media choices. As interest in the game grows, the supply will grow to meet demand — even if in the short run the equilibrium comes up short.

Who Is Hurting Golf?

No one.

Golf is doing fine.

Great, even.