Golf rounds were up by 10 MILLION in July in the USA

The number of rounds of golf on US courses this July was up a staggering 10 million compared with July 2019.

The data, by Golf Datatech, is by far the largest leap since it started tracking monthly numbers in 1997.

It’s also proportionally in line with UK figures, which saw 61 percent growth in June, 40 percent in July and 60 percent in August, ensuring the UK has seen the biggest spike in golf participation in the world during the pandemic.

“It cannot be denied that Covid has helped golf,” Australian pro Geoff Ogilvy is quoted as saying in The Telegraph.

“It’s a healthy outdoor exercise and it’s only going to get bigger.

“At the start of it all, when the Masters was being postponed and the Open cancelled, I was like ‘oh my, this is like Armageddon’. But now, six months on, the Tours are doing it better than any other professional sport.”

Golf Datatech also disclosed that equipment sales in August topped $380 million (£300 million), retail’s greatest single month ever.

As The Telegraph explains, golf can now claim to be THE social distancing sport.

‘Part of that has to do with the nature of its competition and with the stunning scenery, another almost unique aspect,’ the paper states.

‘All of golf’s qualities are again becoming apparent. Its most enticing feature is that it can be played by the whole family, regardless of age or ability. In the last month, a video of a four-year-old making a hole-in-one has gone viral, while at the other side of the supposed generational divide, Jill Thornhill shot her age to win the Walton Heath Women’s Autumn Meeting. Jill is 78.

‘Only golf can do that. Through the gloom it has been the light for so many.’