3-Minute Business Insights
When it comes to traditional, new golf courses, what’s being built today is different than during the development boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here's how.
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Nationwide play was up for a fourth straight in-season month -- see just how much.
Midyear Momentum: Course Openings & Closures
Continued signs of equilibrium in world's best-supplied golf market

Over the past four years, the number of annual golf course closures has dropped 62%. So what does the market look like at the midway point of 2023? And how do course openings compare to recent years?

Midyear Update: U.S. and Worldwide Course Supply

Golf has remarkable geographic spread, with at least one course in 83% of countries and territories worldwide. In fact, there are more golf courses globally than Starbucks locations.

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April play was up nationally compared to a year ago thanks to more favorable golf weather in a number of golf-rich Northern states.
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Play on a national level was relatively stable for March 2023, a normalization for what's been one of the most inconsistent months for U.S. rounds in recent years.
There have been only two sustained periods of golf course supply contraction in the United States. They've ended in two very different ways.
Which states have the most golf supply? Which have the most public courses? Which have the most golfers per public course and, generally, see stronger demand and tee time competition?
State-by-State Golf Reports Available
One-page state level overviews on supply and demand, rounds played and more

NGF Member Exclusive: state-level snapshots of golfers, golf courses, rounds played, price point, facility types and the estimated economic impact of the golf business.

U.S. Course Supply - Top 10 States

