Golf clubs employ 2m people in the US

The United States golf industry, which is about six times bigger than the UK’s, is worth £43.8 billion per year and employs nearly two million people.

The charity sector in the US also benefits from £2.5 billion of revenue per year from events held at golf clubs.

This is from a new study, conducted by SRI International on behalf of Golf 20/20, which looked at operations at golf clubs, capital investment on golf courses, real estate, hospitality, tourism, golfer supplies, tournaments and associations in 2011.

When indirect and induced economic activity driven by the golf sector was taken into consideration, a total impact of £112.5 billion was generated.

There are 15,751 golf venues in the USA, about six times more than the UK, catering for nearly 26 million golfers, slightly higher than six times the UK amount.

The survey found that in the USA, 1.98 million jobs that pay £35.4 billion in wages are dependent on the golf sector.

GOLF 20/20 also found that golf has a huge impact on charities in the USA. On average, per year, 12,000 golf facilities hold 143,000 charity events that attract 12 million participants and generate £16,734 on average per function.

Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation, administrator of GOLF 20/20, stated: “The economy has endured two significant recessions the past decade and golf has fared well. “The health and growth of the game has a direct bearing on jobs, commerce, economic development and tax revenues for US communities and industries.”

He argued that golf’s core industries alone exceed the economic impact of the performing arts and other well-known spectator sports.