Exclusive NGF Articles and Reports

Golf Facilities Report Now Available
Annual Members-Only Report Provides Supply Overview
Golf Facilities Report Now Available
This comprehensive annual summary provides an overview of golf facility supply in the U.S., the world’s best-supplied golf market.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Supply, Golf Courses, Reports, Research
Golf Facilities Report Now Available
2021 Play Looks to Finish on December Upswing
NGF member-only rounds analysis
2021 Play Looks to Finish on December Upswing
What do early returns on December's nationwide play show after the final month of 2020 had a 37% jump?
Topics: Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Research, Rounds Played
2021 Play Looks to Finish on December Upswing
Military Golf in the U.S.
Golf is an important recreation and rehabilitation outlet for those who serve and protect our country.
Military Golf in the U.S.
Collectively, the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces operate more than 150 U.S. golf courses. If the individual branches were grouped together to form a single management company, it would rank among the top multi-course operators in the country.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Management, Management Company
Military Golf in the U.S.
How 2021 Rounds Compare to 2020 Entering Q4
How 2021 Rounds Compare to 2020 Entering Q4
It's likely year-over-year play will continue to be down in the final months of the year, but it's important to keep these declines in proper perspective.
Topics: Engagement, Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Golfers
How 2021 Rounds Compare to 2020 Entering Q4
Green Fee Changes and the Cost of Golf
NGF operator surveys and database dive into whether the pandemic has driven price increases
Green Fee Changes and the Cost of Golf
A recent survey of public golf course operators revealed fairly widespread pricing adjustments in 2021 that impacted average playing fees. Those increases varied from bumps in peak season and non-peak rates to limited discounting and a shifting of what courses consider their “peak season.”
Topics: Consumer Spending, Economy, Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses
Green Fee Changes and the Cost of Golf
August Rounds and Pre-Covid Comparisons
NGF Member Bulletin
August Rounds and Pre-Covid Comparisons
Given the surge in rounds played in the second half of last year, our expectation has been that play this year in Q3 and Q4 would fall somewhere between 2020 and prior year averages. This was the case in July and now again in August.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Participation, Research
August Rounds and Pre-Covid Comparisons
Playing the Right Tees
Member-Only Core Golfer Survey Findings and Operator Feedback
Playing the Right Tees
Not only is a higher-than-expected percentage of golfers playing tees that are too long for them, many realize they should be playing up, but aren't. Here's what the latest findings say.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Golfers, Research
Playing the Right Tees
July Rounds Down Slightly, as Expected
NGF Member Bulletin
July Rounds Down Slightly, as Expected
While July rounds were down year-over-year, play is still trending closer to 2020's 'surge' levels than prior, pre-pandemic years.
Topics: Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Participation, Rounds Played
July Rounds Down Slightly, as Expected
Not All Golf Course Closures Are Failures
Some owners plan exit strategies around high demand for real estate
Not All Golf Course Closures Are Failures
The closing of a popular or once-popular golf course isn’t typically celebrated, but the reality is that not every golf course is destined to live forever. In some cases, a golf course served its purpose and its remnants will reward its users equally well, or even better. For some course owners, selling is a long-planned exit strategy.
Topics: Closures, Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Golf Facilities
Not All Golf Course Closures Are Failures
May Rounds Climb as Summer Months Loom as Measuring Stick
May Rounds Climb as Summer Months Loom as Measuring Stick
May rounds were up year-over-year, as expected, given the operational restrictions that were still in place for the month in 2020. Now, with summer upon us, is when it really starts getting interesting – in terms of comps – for the golf industry.
Topics: Engagement, Facilities, Facility Operations, Golf Courses, Municipal Golf
May Rounds Climb as Summer Months Loom as Measuring Stick

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