Year End Rounds-Played Data Confirms Revival of the Game we Love

We are pleased to be able to publish the year end US Rounds Played data for 2021.

The increased popularity of the game has been confirmed by the final figures, which show an improvement in Rounds Played by 5.5% for the total year 2021: with Public Access courses up +6.7% while Private facilities were up +1.1%.

Providing a satisfactory experience to new as well as established players will be crucial to golf maintaining the momentum into 2022 and beyond.

In December, Rounds Played grew by 1.9%, with the Western Region suffering through a cool/wet month. Conversely, the South Atlantic had a great month, with warm temps and relatively low precipitation.

When comparing 2021 to 2019 (pre-pandemic), we estimate rounds to be up roughly +18%, an indication of just how well the game performed during that past two years.

Since the turn of the century, Rounds Played consistently trended lower in the US. “It was like a bucket of water with a small hole in it…dripping out over time. Over the past 20 years, rounds played were down roughly 18%, so on trend to lose a little less than 1% per year.?Then suddenly Covid hit, and everything changed, and now rounds played are back near all time highs.

After two years of significant growth in ’20 and ‘21, the total number of Rounds Played are close to the same level we had in the year 2000. After many years of erosion, the pandemic stimulated interest and demand for the game, and many Americans flooded to the golf course.?

Providing a satisfactory experience to new as well as established players will be crucial to golf maintaining the momentum into 2022 and beyond.

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