Golf Business News – Q1 ‘Rounds Played’ down 14% in UK following wet start to year

The average monthly rounds of golf played per course in England, Wales and Scotland fell to 1,385 in the first three months of 2024, a 14% drop on the same period last year, according to the latest research from Sporting Insights. , which has been tracking rounds played on commercial golf courses across Great Britain since 2000.

The biggest impacts, according to Sporting Insights figures, were felt in the Midlands and the North, although there were last green shoots in the form of year-on-year growth in March.

Scotland and the South experienced a single-digit percentage decline against Q1 2023. However, it should be noted that 2023 enjoyed a strong performance in February and March.

Despite a slow start to the UK golf year, partly due to a wetter-than-average winter, Sporting Insights says conditions remain favorable for golf to put up strong numbers until the end of 2024. The caveat, he says, is that the continuing cost of living appears to be impacting leisure spending, albeit at lower levels than predicted.

“There are a few key things to remember,” commented Richard Payne, co-managing director of Sporting Insights. “The first is the relative strength of 2023 and 2022 if you look at any downward changes in performance. In March 2024 finishing 3% down year-on-year is a good result that should not be interpreted as a cause for despair as golf enters the critical summer window, and they are still growing with 2019 figures.

“The second is that, although not a big deal – in fact the appetite for winter golf reflects the fitness of many GB golfers – Q1 rounds are dwarfed by summer numbers, which are 2-3 times higher on average than we see in Q1, there is more than enough time to the year ended with growth.

“Finally, we have to point out that like any outdoor sport, participation is variable. This is the first quarter to see a year-over-year decline in rounds played since Q1 last year. If the decline in rounds played continues throughout the year, there may be conversations the industry needs to have, but it’s too early to worry yet.”