The Golf Business Indicators

The GOLF 20/20 Executive and Research Committees recognized a need to establish a mechanism by which the business of golf could be better evaluated. While research is being released at different times by various sources, there has not been a single source for a report on the state of the industry. The Golf Business Indicators (GBI) report is designed to collate several key metrics into one easy-to-understand report released on a regular basis.  

The GOLF 20/20 Research Committee determined that there were five key metrics that should comprise the GBI report: annual participation; annual rounds played; annual golf fee revenue per round; golf course openings and closings; and fan interest.

Following are the Golf Business Indicators, with 2010 and 2011 results indicated:

Annual Participation (according to National Golf Foundation (NGF))

  • 2010 Participation was 26.1 million
  • 2011 Participation was 25.7 million 

Annual Rounds Played  (according to NGF)

  • 2010 Annual Rounds Played were 475.0 million
  • 2011 Annual Rounds Played were 463.0 million

Annual Golf Fee Revenue Per Round (according to PGA PerformanceTrak)

  • For All Facility Types in 2010 the Average Fee was $27.15
  • For All Facility Types in 2011 the Average Fee was $27.79

Golf Course Openings and Closings (according to NGF)

  • In 2010 there were 46 Course Openings and 107 Closings
  • In 2011 there were 19 Course Openings and 157.5 Closings

Annual Number of Fans of Professional Golf (according to 2011 ESPN Sports Poll, 2009-2010 ESPN Kids Poll and July 2011 US Census Resident Population Estimate)

  • The number of fans in 2010 were 101,714,967
  • The number of fans in 2011 were 111,971,938

GOLF 20/20 will update and distribute the Golf Business Indicators report annually.

GOLF 20/20's intent in communicating this report is to provide the golf industry's key stakeholders with an annual snapshot of the health of the game. This report is communicated only to the GOLF 20/20 Executive and Working Committees. It is not intended for widespread distribution, including the media.