Exclusive NGF Articles and Reports
The midway point for rounds follows one of the highest-volume months of the year
June rounds saw a slight YOY uptick after three months of declines in national play
How Does 2022 Rounds Momentum Compare to Pre-Covid?
A member-only look at rounds comparisons to previous years
In assessing play levels, it can be helpful to look beyond year-over-year comparisons. Here's how May 2022 stacks up against recent years just before the pandemic-driven play surges.
A year ago, May rounds were +18% across the U.S.
Rounds of golf were down slightly, again, on a nationwide level in May. How did they compare to 2021?
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
Annual Members-Only Report Summarizes U.S. Play
This summary report provides an overview of the record-setting 2021 play in the world's top golf market.
