Mollie Cahillane |mollie@bigswingmedia.news

Greg Nathan has a phrase for where golf stands right now. "The mic drop moment," he calls it. "More people playing more golf in more ways than [at] any time in recorded history."

Nathan, the CEO of the National Golf Foundation, has access to more data than perhaps anyone in the golf business world, and he’s adamant the industry should be paying attention.

More than 48 million Americans hit a golf ball in 2025, a 41% increase since 2019, pushing total U.S. participation toward 50 million for the first time. The R&A's latest global report puts the worldwide figure at 112.2 million adults and juniors — up 4.2 million year-on-year across 149 countries.

Golf grew. But who’s driving it, and how are the sport’s stalwarts approaching the game’s longtime intimidation problem?

The Scorecard

In America, 29.1 million people played on-course golf in 2025, past 29 million for the first time since 2007 and closing in on the all-time record of 30.6 million in 2003 (peak Tiger Woods era). Another 38 million engaged off-course at driving ranges, simulators, and entertainment venues — up from 14 million a decade ago. Off-course engagement now surpasses on-course for the first time.The post-pandemic era has produced a net gain of nearly 5 million on-course golfers since 2019 — more than the Tiger Boom generated in six years, and delivered across a fundamentally different demographic base. There have been a record number of rounds played for five consecutive years, produced by 3,000 fewer courses than existed the last time the game was at this level.

Who showed up

The data is unambiguous: women were the primary driver of golf's post-pandemic growth.

According to updated data from the NGF, of the net 4.8 million on-course golfers gained since 2019, women account for 2.5 million — 52% of the total, despite representing just over a quarter of the existing base. More than 8 million women played on a golf course in 2025, the most ever in a single year, now representing 28% of all on-course golfers — up from 20% in 2010. Total participation from women, both on and off-course, is up 81% over the past decade. An even greater number — 8.4 million — engaged with golf away from the course, meaning more women are now playing golf off-course than on it.

For operators, the data is as actionable as it gets. Women make up 36% of beginner golfers and 42% of lapsed golfers. More than 75% of facilities under major management companies now have women-specific leagues or associations, which is a start, but the retention numbers suggest there's more work to do.

The on-course diversity numbers are equally striking. A record 7.7 million Asian, Black, and Hispanic golfers played on U.S. courses in 2025, which marks a new high of 26% of all on-course golfers. Since 2019, that group has grown by 61%, with the number of Black golfers more than doubling over six years. Away from the course, people of color account for roughly 45% of off-course only participants.

Juniors round out the picture. Approximately four million players between the ages of 6 and 17 played on-course in 2025 — the second-highest total ever — up 58% since 2019, making it the fastest-growing on-course age group. Junior off-course participation has nearly doubled over the same period. Globally, the R&A puts total junior participation outside the U.S. and Mexico at 47.1 million, up 6% year-on-year.

Nathan's explanation for all of it comes down to one word: intimidation. Golf wasn't failing to grow because it was too long, too expensive, or too hard, but because it was too intimidating. That intimidation fell hardest on women, people of color, and anyone new to the game. Two forces helped break the cycle: off-course venues changed who people see playing golf, and social media changed what golf looks like to the outside world. Both made golf relatable before the industry made it welcoming.

"Golf is now more relatable. It's more approachable," Nathan says. "Green-grass facilities still have a long way to go — but it's far improved."

Nathan has a name for the barrier that remains: game shame. Golf is the only sport, he says, where people introduce themselves by apologizing for how badly they play. "Do you know any other activities where the first thing out of your mouth is, 'but I'm awful'?" Getting rid of that, he argues, is the most important work still ahead.

The On Deck Circle

Nathan borrows an analogy from baseball to describe golf's most important commercial opportunity.

The NGF tracks 27 million Americans in "latent demand,” essentially people who are not playing, but are very interested. Another 19 million engage exclusively off-course, and around 50 million Americans have played at some point and don't currently, which Nathan called the “on deck circle. The game welcomes roughly six million new or returning players every year — 3.3 million beginners and 2.8 million returning players in 2025 alone.

While the top of the funnel is fine, conversion and retention are where the next steps are. And the on deck circle means the industry has an enormous runway even when players cycle out.

"The way to retain people is for golf to be fun for them," Nathan says. "The removal of orthodoxy is the removal of intimidation."

The NGF's own framing is blunter: "Complacency is the enemy."

The Other Side of the Ledger

As golf grows, Nathan names three threats to the game. Water availability is always number one, followed by geopolitical disruption and recession. Golf enters this environment in far stronger shape than it did before 2008 — 38 million off-course participants versus 6 million then, a dramatically better public image, and a massive on deck circle. But early warning signs are flashing, as Canadian golf tourism to the U.S. is already down due to tariffs and the exchange rate.

The Long Game

Nathan's final argument is the one the industry has most consistently underplayed: golf as a health play. Obesity, inactivity, loneliness — three of the CDC's top public health concerns, and three problems Nathan says golf directly addresses through outdoor exercise, social connection and mental focus. The game hasn't made that case loudly enough or consistently enough, and the NGF intends to change that.

The data makes his case as U.S. participation approaches 50 million and global reach climbs north of 112 million.

The demographic foundation has never been broader, and the on deck circle has never been busier.

"The game itself gets the credit," Nathan says of why participation has kept climbing long after the pandemic catalyst faded. "Not COVID."

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