October 2024 National Rounds Played

On a nationwide level, October rounds of golf saw their biggest year-over-year jump since the pandemic year of 2020. The increase of 11.5% in October play compared to 2023 was driven in large part by warmer, drier weather that extended the golf season in northern parts of the country.

With two months of rounds left to track in 2024, year-to-date play is 2.6% ahead of 2023’s pace, when a record number of rounds were played at U.S. facilities nationwide.

In October 2020, just a few months after the Covid-related restrictions on golf were lifted, the surges in engagement and play across the golf industry led to a +32% YOY jump in rounds versus October 2019. Those elevated play levels remained relatively stable — a new normal, as many in the industry have termed it — as golf moved into its shoulder season in 2021, 2022 and 2023, with October rounds changes between 1% and 2%.

This year’s rise of almost 12% marks only the third month this year with an increase or decrease of double digits (January -17% and March +21%).

On a national level, October 2024 was the second-warmest and second-driest October in the 130-year history tracked by the NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. In seasonal states, this can be good for golf.

That was the case in golf-rich states that experienced substantial YOY jumps in October play such as Michigan (+42%), Minnesota (+41%), Ohio (+40%), Illinois (+37%), and Wisconsin (+31%).

Warmer weather and a lack of precipitation also led to noteworthy play gains in the Northeast, particularly in densely-populated states like Pennsylvania (+25%), New Jersey (+17%) and New York (+12%). New Jersey had its driest October ever on record.

While Georgia’s October play increased by almost 11% during its second driest October in the NOAA’s 130-year record, neighboring Florida had the biggest rounds decline at -24%. Florida was the only state in the country with higher-than-average precipitation levels in October, a total that was impacted early in the month by the third hurricane to hit the state (Milton) this year.

NGF provides confidential, 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. ⬇️

Click image for full 3-page PDF of the October rounds report

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For an archive of rounds played data — or to learn more about how you or your facility can contribute to our vital research on behalf of the industry — click here.