A Slower Start to the Season - National Golf Foundation

Exclusive NGF Articles and Reports

Less favorable weather in several notable regions hampers early-season play

April rounds were down on a national level, but in several well-supplied regions it’s a change that operators attribute largely to unfavorable golf weather.

Annual Distribution of Rounds Played

April 2022 National Rounds Played

Cooler, wetter weather takes toll in several key regions

April play follows March's trajectory, with the third year-over-year decline through the first four months of 2022.

March 2022 National Rounds Played

March play can't match surges of early spring 2021

On a national level, March play was down fairly significantly compared to a year ago. Here's a quick look at where and why.

February 2022 National Rounds Played

NJ, NY and PA see increased play after Nor'Easter effect in Feb 2021

Buoyed by strong play totals in the South and parts of the Northeast, February 2022 rounds rose on a national level compared to the year prior.

January 2022 National Rounds Played Report

A new year brings new rounds-played data

On a national level, January '22 rounds didn't match the relatively strong starts seen the past two years, at least for regions in season.

This Category Drove 2021's Gains in Rounds Played

"We thought we could never keep up with the fall of 2020”

Nationwide, play in 2021 increased by almost 6% over 2020. The biggest gains were seen in the spring given that during 2020 over half of U.S. golf courses were shut down for more than a month. But for the year, it was this category that really spurred rounds increases.

Inertia - Where is it taking golf?

Rounds of golf in 2020 were almost unthinkably high – the industry erased 20 years of decline in about six months. Naturally, we all wondered how 2021 would go. Would demand maintain, or regress as people presumably fell back into old routines? Emphatically, it was the former.