Are we really in the midst of a short course movement in golf? Yes. And no...

In 2021, the number of new course openings in the U.S. was again limited. And yet these debuts, from Florida to Washington, hit their highest number since 2017.

Based on research from the NGF’s definitive international facility database, the R&A's biennial Golf Around the World Report is back and counts golf courses in 206 of the world’s 251 countries -- with more than 38,000 courses globally.

There have been far more golf course closures than openings in the U.S. over the past 15 years. But did you realize that almost 740 U.S. golf courses have had openings during that period? That total, during what’s looked at as a “down period” for the industry, is more than the entire golf course supply in nations such as Scotland, Ireland, Spain and South Africa.