Depending upon your source, golf’s demise is either imminent or greatly exaggerated. But numbers don’t lie, and those in the U.S. Golf Economy Report, published in May, provide an excellent snapshot view of the sport - divots and all.
The report is the product of Golf 20/20, which is a coalition of the sport’s governing bodies and industry partners. The report is available free online but for those looking to crunch their numbers immediately, here’s a Reader’s Digest version.
$191.9 Billion: Golf’s total direct economic output
1,886 Million: Number of golf-related jobs generated by the sport
$58.7 Billion: Compensation for those employees
$28.5 Billion: Amount of tourism spending on golf in the U.S.
50 Percent: The number of courses and opportunities to play that are located in this country
$549.1 Million: The amount spent on so-called ‘golf media,’ meaning books, magazines, video games and streamed video on-demand (SVOD) and DVDs/blu-ray
$2.4 Billion: Spending on professional tournaments, associations, and player endorsements
$6 Billion: Amount being spent on-course and off-course on golf equipment and supplies
15,014: Number of regulation golf facilities in the U.S.
2,300-Plus: Number of alternative facilities (mini-golf, indoor ranges and golf-themed facilities like TopGolf)
22.2 Percent: The amount of growth in the golf industry since 2011 (representing 4.1 percent compound annual growth rate)
$7.2 Billion: Spent on new ‘golf home construction’ (defined as the amount spent by those who had homes specifically built in both golf communities and golf resorts). This is up from $3.1 billion in 2011.
737: The net decline in the number of golf venues since 2011
$210 Million: New golf course construction (down from 2011)
$1.9 Billion: Invested in existing facilities (bringing total capital investment to $2.16 billion, up from $2.07 billion in 2011)
$3,94 Billion: Amount raised in charitable endeavors, such as charity tournaments, by golf. (This is up from $3.91 billion in 2011)
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