Golf Industry Report
The Golf Industry Report compiles many of the…
Special Reports
NGF’s reports and publications are free to members, providing data and intel to make better-informed decisions. Browse our catalog, from annual reports on participation and golf course supply to more focused reports on key golfer segments and business categories.
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Just ask. We’ve learned a lot in our 80-year history and chances are we have insights that will help.
Filter Results by:
Summary of Golf Participation in the U.S.
This one-page summary of consumer engagement in golf…
Golf Participation in the U.S.
The NGF has surveyed Americans regarding golf participation…
NGF Reads
NGF’s 2023 GolfSAT Award Winners
NGF recognizes 10 facilities in annual GolfSAT customer satisfaction awards
GolfMAP – Explained
GolfMAP is one of the most robust data-driven analytical tools available to NGF members, delivering detailed information about golf micro-economies across the country. Here’s a look at how GolfMAP works and how it can help your bottom line.
When a Pro Shop Burned Down, the Golf Community Stepped Up
When the pro shop at a public golf course in New York’s Catskills recently burned down in a fire, members of the golf community stepped up to help.
Golf Course Closures Still Trending Downward
As the saying goes: one is an example, two is a coincidence and three is a trend.
And while we’re not all the way there yet, indications midway through the year are that the U.S. golf industry is headed for a third straight decline in the number of annual golf course closures.
Historically, just over half of annual closures are discovered during the first two quarters of NGF’s annual U.S. verification cycle. If that pattern holds, we might see this year’s closure total finish well below last year’s total of 130.5 (as measured in 18-hole …
NGF’s 2022 GolfSAT Award Winners
NGF recognizes 10 facilities in annual GolfSAT customer satisfaction awards
GolfSAT – Explained
NGF’s GolfSAT platform is a golfer satisfaction survey that enables participating courses to compare satisfaction measures against benchmarks of similarly-priced properties nationwide.
A Longer Look at Short Course Supply
The U.S. has more Par 3 courses and executive courses combined – over 1,600 – than the total number of golf courses in every other country in the world except Canada, the U.K. and Japan. It’s an abundance of so-called short courses, the kind of golf offering often lauded as being more affordable and appealing for golfers regardless of ability or experience.
Yet amid the ongoing market correction (with more closures than openings every year since 2006), it's been short courses that have closed in the U.S. at a more rapid clip than regulation courses.
This is particularly true with Par 3 …
Beginning Golfer Makeup
Females and juniors account for a higher proportion of beginning golfers than they do among the overall U.S. on-course golfer population.
As this graphic indicates, women and girls accounted for 37% of those who played on a golf course for the first time in 2021. By comparison, females make up 25% of the 25.1 million on-course golfers overall.
Juniors comprised 31% of beginners in 2021. Overall, kids between the ages of 6 and 17 accounted for 12% of U.S. on-course golf participants.
Golf Facilities Report Now Available
After two of the most unprecedented years for U.S. golf courses in history, there are signs the decades-long supply correction is dwindling as the market moves toward equilibrium.
The world’s best-supplied golf market saw more total rounds of golf played in 2021 than ever before, with play and engagement continuing to thrive as the coronavirus pandemic stretched on. Amid the correction that’s thinned the number of U.S. facilities about 13% from its peak, the number of golfers per 18 holes is returning to a balance that existed two decades ago, when golf courses were, on the whole, more economically …
Santa Is On the First Tee
Consumer surveys indicate that gift-giving for all things golf – including equipment, apparel and accessories — is projected to remain strong this holiday season, even as manufacturers and retailers wrestle with production, inventory and shipping challenges.
