Data captured by the National Golf Foundation, the primary trade association for the golf industry in the US, shows momentum across the recreational US golf industry remained broadly positive in 2025, with participation and play settling into a higher, sustainable baseline rather than a post-pandemic spike.
According to the NGF’s annual Graffis Report – a holistic ‘state of the industry’ overview covering participation, rounds played, and facility supply – on-course participation exceeded 29 million players last year, marking an eighth consecutive year of growth and a net increase of around one million golfers year-on-year. The figure approaches the all-time record of 30.6 million set in 2003 during the Tiger Woods era.
Total golf participation – combining on-course play with technology-enabled ranges, simulators and entertainment venues – reached an all-time high of 48.1 million, up 50 percent over the past decade. Off-course formats now account for 37.9 million participants in the US, with 19 million playing both on-course and off-course.
The NGF’s latest Graffis Report shows that the participation surge that began before the pandemic has stabilised at an elevated baseline rather than reverting to pre-2017 levels. This trajectory supports continued demand for golf equipment, footwear and apparel as participation gains convert into increased buying across these categories.
Rounds played reached another all-time record in 2025 – the fourth time in five years – according to Golf Datatech. This was achieved despite operating with roughly 2,000 fewer facilities than existed during the 2003 participation peak.
Key data points from the 2026 Graffis Report
- Total participation exceeded 48 million, up 50% over the past decade, with on-course play at its highest level since the late-1990s/early-2000s peak.
- National rounds played hit a record for the fourth time in five years, despite around 2,000 fewer facilities than two decades ago.
- More than 8 million women and girls now play on course, a 46% increase since 2019, alongside record diversity levels with 28% female and 26% people of colour participation.
- Around two-thirds of green-grass beginners now start via off-course formats, which NGF says complement rather than replace traditional golf.
- Nearly 70% of operators rate their financial condition as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, supported by stronger demand, utilization, and a 29% rise in average 18-hole fees since 2019, broadly in line with inflation.