Participation in Q2 high but down on 2023

Golf participation in Great Britain remained high in April, May and June 2024, but was down five percent on 2023’s numbers, meaning it was about the same as it was in 2022.

According to Sporting Insights, the decrease in golf rounds played in Q2 was caused by rain in April and the England football team’s run in the European Championships in June.

Much of the damage was done during a wet April, which saw sizeable drops in rounds played in the Midlands, Scotland, and the north. Smaller decline was visible in May, and there were green shoots in June, which was mostly drier and sunnier than usual, which helped offset lower than average temperatures. Two of the four regions (the north and the south) displayed growth.

In fact, the south region grew overall in Q2, up two percent versus the same months in 2023.

The news follows a drop in Q1 2024, and leaves the half year picture in negative figures, with national rounds now down by eight percent versus the first six months of 2023, with all four regions below last year’s levels, albeit the south barely so. It should be noted however, that the five percent year-on-year drop in Q2 is lower than the drop in the first three months of this year.

Spokesman John Bushell reflected: “We would obviously prefer to be reporting growth, but it’s just as important to observe and acknowledge the data when things aren’t so positive. Weather and England’s Euros exploits will undoubtedly have had an impact on these figures. So, while this is a second straight quarter of negative figures, we still think that a lot of the underlying indicators for golf are encouraging. Consumer confidence is picking up. Global golf participation continues to rise, and there is so much energy among brands, retailers, venues and service providers to protect what’s best about the sport while also innovating and broadening access, energy that was evident at the recent Stephen Proctor Golf Industry Lunch at the Open.”