March rounds of golf were basically flat year-over-year on a national level despite some significant differences on opposite sides of the country.
Through the low-volume first quarter of 2026, overall U.S. play is running about 5% ahead of last year’s record-setting pace.
From a national perspective, March tends to be an inconsistent month defined by weather-related swings, sitting behind only January, February and December in terms of the volume of total play.
That was the case again in California, which saw a 10% YOY jump in play after its warmest and driest March in the 132-year record kept by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. Play was also up notably in Oregon (+19%), Nevada (+17%), and New Mexico (+15%), all of which had among their driest and warmest months of March on record.
On the other side of the country, golf-rich states like Pennsylvania and New York in the Northeast (or Mid Atlantic region) and Michigan and Ohio in the Midwest (or East North Central Region) saw notable YOY play declines due in part to elevated precipitation levels that were among the highest on record.
On a regional basis, the biggest gains were in the Mountain (+12%) and Pacific (+9%), with the most noteworthy drops in New England (-56%) and the Mid Atlantic (-26%).
NGF provides confidential, facility-level rounds data to Circana’s Golf Datatech in helping compile the free, monthly play reports on behalf of the golf industry.
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