Golf industry data strong, hopefully sustainable

The Economic Impact Study commissioned by the American Golf Industry Coalition and conducted by the National Golf Foundation in 2023 reveals that the direct impact of golf in the U.S. in 2022 was $102 billion, while the indirect and induced (secondary) impact was $125 billion, bringing the total impact to a whopping $227 billion.

Within the context of these figures, core industries make up $56 billion, including golf facility revenue, golf retail, supplies and manufacturers, golf tournaments and money for charities. Another $46 billion comes from golf-related tourism and golf real estate. The portion of the total included in the indirect impact of $125 billion comes from golf-related labor, building and other factors. For instance, when a Topgolf goes up in a city, there is often an adjacent hotel and the ripple effect nearby is palpable.

The game of golf enables over 1.65 million jobs, including more than one million directly tied to the industry. All of these figures spell over a 20 percent increase from 2016. The NGF has also conducted economic research studies for many of the individual states in the U.S.. These studies are essential for emphasizing and communicating golf’s profound and wide-ranging effects.

Approximately one in seven Americans actively participate in golf in some form, while the game’s overall reach (including watching, streaming and/or reading about it) extends to about one-third of the population. Alternative forms of golf, such as Topgolf, practice ranges, simulators and other golf entertainment venues, have helped push the game’s overall participation base past 41 million – up 30 percent from 32 million in 2016, per NGF data.

With the Great Recession beginning in 2008 and lasting until 2016, golf was in a spiral of decline. Hundreds of golf courses closed and millions quit golf. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the resurgence started in golf with the likes not seen since the Tiger Woods-induced golf boom starting in 1997.

With the popularity of golf surging, there are serious challenges to be faced if the growth is to be sustained. One is water, a precious, ever scarcer resource, particularly in the west. Agriculture is the top priority. Another is ongoing controversy over land use. There are anti-golf lobbyists who consider golf courses a very inefficient use of land assets  because they allow only a limited number of participants at any one time on a large piece of well-watered ground. The city of San Francisco shut down the public Presidio Golf Course in early 2020 and made it a park for “residents looking for fresh air.”  The treasured Melreese Golf Course in south Florida closed in 2023 to be developed into  a soccer park and stadium.  In some parts of the country, golf has a battle on its hands.

Golf courses require a lot of maintenance to keep them playable, and that means a lot of labor and machinery. Higher inflation is a big concern not only for the profitability of golf facilities, but to attracting and keeping club membership and the well-being of daily fee and destination courses.

The surge in golf following Covid, in many ways, was an aberrant phenomenon, not to be welcomed in the future. As my friend, Larry Hirsh, of Golf Property Analysts, has stated: “The game and industry of golf in particular have survived lots of ‘ups and downs.’ Golf will survive any potential decline as well. The key is to anticipate and avoid or minimize that decline by broadening appeal.” 

Lastly, a difficulty that golf will have to face sooner rather than later is the fact that so many wannabe golfers are put off by the excessive time it takes to play 18 holes. Amen.