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Rounds played for August were down 7.3% nationwide compared to 2020’s end-of-summer surge, although play continues to trend ahead of recent non-pandemic years.

August is typically one of the three highest-volume months for rounds, behind July and June. Last year, August 2020 rounds saw a YOY jump of almost 21% as summer vacations, youth sports and other activities were more limited.

Weather also was a factor in this year’s dip in August play. Precipitation was up fairly significantly (43% or higher) in four of the northernmost geographic regions included in the monthly report produced by Golf Datatech, which incorporates facility data gathered by NGF. In the East North Central region, for example, home to golf-rich states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio, precipitation was up 53% for August and rounds saw a decline of just over 12%.

Entering September, play was up 11.3% nationally compared to the same eight-month period in 2020, when approximately 20 million spring rounds were lost due to virus-related operational restrictions and anxiety.