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The 2020/21 Golf Club Participation Report, prepared by Golf Business Advisory Services using combined Golf Australia’s club member participation data and Sport Australia’s AusPlay data, reveals there has been record growth in club participation and total participation, with a 6.4% increase in club members and a 21% (210,000) year-on-year rise in round players.

More than 24,000 new players joined golf clubs in 2020-21, with the 6.4% increase the largest jump in percentage terms recorded since data collection began in 1970, taking the total number to 409,970.

Junior members also experienced a major increase, with 16% more children under-18 joining their local club.

AusPlay’s data reveals that Australian Golf’s vision to be a sport for all is gradually becoming a reality, with an estimated 1,204,000 total golf participants playing 9-hole or 18-hole rounds of golf in the 2020-21 period. 

This is supported by Golf Australia’s nine-hole round data which experienced 20% growth with more than 517,000 rounds played in 2020-21.

At club level, Victoria experienced the biggest lift in membership (up 8.9%)  despite access to golf clubs being limited during the ongoing pandemic, while all states experienced substantial growth. South Australia grew by 7.2%, WA by 7%, QLD by 6.4%, NSW by 4.8%, Tasmania by 4.6% and the Northern Territory by 0.5%.

Golf Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland said the findings were “monumentally encouraging for the game”, pointing out that the results buck the gradual decline in golfers endured between 2000-2019.

Sutherland notes “our purpose is simple – we want more Australians playing more golf. There are many different forms of golf making it truly a game for everyone.

“It’s fun, it can be played at any age, and it’s proven to be good for your health. These are just some of the factors driving this phenomenal growth.  

“Interestingly, these latest figures tell us there are far more casual golfers that are not members of a club than there are club members. This suggests we have a fantastic launching pad to continue to grow our sport and bring new people to our game. We want to keep driving this by making the sport more accessible and creating more options to play to ensure golf continues to be a sport for all.”

Sutherland said that the launch in December of the Australian Golf Strategy – a strategic plan for the entire golf industry – has highlighted participation as the most important factor in the health of the industry into the future.   

 “So many new people have come to the game in recent times, they need to be embraced so they remain in the game while we continue to innovate to appeal to more Australians.

“It will be vital for us to understand these newcomers - what they want is not going to be the same as it has been in the past, and we need to acknowledge that and evolve to suit our new markets,” said Sutherland.

“The elite game is also incredibly important in providing role models for our young golfers to aspire to, and we’re excited to see some of Australia’s best players in action at the Vic Open this week at 13th beach. It’s been fantastic to see the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and the WPGA Tour Australasia getting back into the full swing of things this season and there’s no doubt the tour will play an important role in building on the 16% growth in junior members this year.

Key findings of the report include:  

• Positive member movement was evident in all key market segments. Both member clubs and social clubs enjoyed growth around six percent, driven by growth in male numbers of more than seven percent. Junior numbers also enjoyed substantial growth, increasing by 15% compared to the prior year.
• All states except Northern Territory enjoyed growth well in advance of recent trends. Despite long periods of course closures due to lockdown measures, Victoria recorded the largest growth of 8.9%. 
• New members coming to our sport are younger than the broader club member age profile, with 60% of new members under the age of 50. Of new members, 34% were between 15-34 in 2020-21, compared to 25% in 2019-20.
• Female members make up 19% of all golfers.
• The national new club member attraction rate was 13%, with an attrition rate of 10%.  Of all new golfers in 2020-21, 60% were under 50 years old, compared to the number of 30% of current members.
• The average age of club members in Australia is 56.9 years. The average for male members is 55.3 years and for women, 64.3 years.
• There were 11,769 million competition rounds played in 2020-21, representing a 12% increase over 2019-20.
• The report estimates ‘total golf participants’ at 1.204 million people, according to Ausplay, up 21% on the previous year.
• Get Into Golf, the adult introductory program, saw 313 clubs and facilities registered, with 224 actively participating, and 6594 participants in 1230 programs. Of the total participants, 5564 or 84 % were female.

Full report here 

Image: Hannah Green 2019 ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open at Royal Adelaide Golf Club. Credit Royal Adelaide Golf Club/ David Brand

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