Americans Still Playing More Golf

When analyzing rounds-played momentum on the trail shoulder of the peak season, the big unknown has been whether the weather will hold up. Given the sustained strong levels of demand – with busy tee sheets at U.S. courses – Mother Nature is among the very short list of forces that could keep 2024 from being another record-setting year for play.

Hurricane season was a not-so-gentle reminder of the impact weather has on an outdoor sport like golf. And yet, on a national level, September rounds were up 3.6% year-over-year. As a result, year-to-date play is now trending about 2% ahead of 2023’s record-setting pace.

This despite September play being -2% in the South Central region and -8% in the South Atlantic. The latter is where Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s panhandle as a Category 4 storm in late September and churned across the Southeast over the next two days, bringing a storm surge, winds up to 140 miles-per-hour, and extreme rains that triggered flash flooding and massive debris damage. Over 200 people died, the second-deadliest hurricane to hit the U.S. mainland in 50 years, and millions were left without power.

The impact on golf – while obviously far less significant in the big picture – was substantial.

At golf courses throughout the Southeast, trees were toppled, and electricity was lost. Flooding caused waterways to overflow, destroying bridges, paths and bunkers while leaving piles of debris strewn across fairways and greens. While some facilities escaped with minimal damage, those hit the hardest were forced to close for extended periods.

Tim Kreger, Executive Director of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association, said the devastation is the worst he’s seen a particular area suffer in his lifetime, with the extent of the damage exceeding what most have seen on social media or in news stories. In Florida, the nation’s most golf-rich state, September rounds were down almost 15%. Georgia and North Carolina, which count over 900 courses between them, each saw play declines of at least 10%.

Even Augusta National Golf Club was affected by the storm, with drone images circulating on social media showing tree and water damage that will undoubtedly be invisible on opening day.

Outside of the Southeast, however, it was a different story. September rounds were up at least 4% in five of the other six geographic regions tracked in the National Rounds Played Report produced by Golf Datatech with facility-level play data contributed by NGF.

The final three months of the year are low volume, particularly November and December, so will have less impact on the year-end play numbers. But they’re also months that are far more subject to the vagaries of the season, whether it’s sudden storms or a shortened season in Frostbelt states.

Let’s hope the close of 2024 is historically noted for its rounds volume and not the weather!