U.S. Golf Supply Trend

While the U.S. golf industry has undergone a correction that's yielded a 13% net decline in the total number of facilities over the past 17 years, it remains -- by far -- the best-supplied golf market in the world with almost 16,000 courses at 14,000 facilities. The accompanying graphic shows two of the three notable time periods during which new course openings significantly surpassed closings. After a boom of private clubs in the 1920s (not shown), the demand for public golf fueled the surge in the 1960s and real estate was the driver for the spike that started in the 1990s.