Rounds of golf for March 2023 were relatively stable compared to a year ago — down 2.3% — a normalization for what’s been one of the most inconsistent months in recent years.
Through the first three months, rounds are almost level (-0.2%) compared to the same point in 2022, which ended up as one of the top four years on record for U.S. play.
Last year, March rounds were down 14%. This was largely attributable to less favorable golf weather in several golf-rich parts of the country and a “reversion to the mean” following the +45% year-over-year spike in March 2021 — the first real monthly comp that showed the impacts of 2020’s Covid-related shutdowns.
This year’s -2.3% March change is within the standard weather-related variance of +/- 2% to 3%.
The three regions with March 2023 play declines of at least 10% all had an average temperature that was 5 degrees (or more) lower than the year prior. In the Pacific Region (California, Oregon and Washington), precipitation levels were up 140%, contributing to a -10% dip in rounds. In the Mountain Region, precipitation was up 84% YOY and rounds were down over 14%.
NGF provides facility-level rounds data to Golf Datatech in helping compile the free, monthly play reports on behalf of the golf industry. Click the image below to see the full report. 
For a historical archive of monthly rounds-played reports, CLICK HERE
