May 2019 National Rounds Played Report

Click image to view the full May 2019 Rounds Played report

Rounds of golf in May declined 5.4% from a year ago, affected in large part by increased precipitation in many regions of the U.S. The national, year-to-date total through May is down 1.3% compared to 2018.

It is noteworthy that last May was the only month in 2018 that saw a year-over-year increase in play during what was the third-wettest year on record. That increase was +5.3%, which almost matches this year’s drop for May, a month that typically accounts for almost as many annual rounds as January through March combined.

This May, seven of eight regions saw decreases in rounds because of colder and wetter conditions. The most significant decline was in the West North Central (Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota), which had rounds drop 13.9% as the average temperature was almost 10 degrees lower than last year and precipitation was up 91%. Rounds were down 11.3% in the East North Central (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin) due to an almost 8-degree dip in average temperature and a 24% precipitation increase.

The only region in which the average May temperature was up and precipitation was down from a year earlier was the South Atlantic, where rounds were up 10.3% across states like Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

The summer months of June, July and August have the heaviest rounds volume and therefore will have the most significant impact on the overall year-end play.