R&A Reveals a Record Breaking Statistic About Golf

It is no surprise that golf is one of the most popular sports in the world. A lot of the other sports seem to steal more attention, but gone are the days that golf was limited to one or two countries. Golf is now one of the fastest spreading sports in the world and yes; we have proof of its increasing popularity.

Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (R&A) and the Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) conducted a survey of the new population in golf. It found that five-and-a-half million additional people have taken up the sport in the last couple of years.

From 61 million in 2016 to 66.6 million in 2021, the growth is a record-breaking one. The previous high was 61.6, recorded in 2012. Many factors are responsible for the current surge, including the efforts of golf bodies around the world to promote the sport. Moreover, the pandemic over the last two years has remarkably helped popularize the cause of golf, with more people teeing it up than ever.

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More than 5 million golfers have taken up golf

Phil Anderton is the chief development officer at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. Giving reasons for this sudden surge, he said, “Golf is enjoying a real boom in popularity at the moment and we are seeing substantial increases in participation in many parts of the world, particularly in the last two years when the sport could be played safely outdoors during the Covid-19 pandemic. “

However, he alerted the golf world to continue their endeavor to popularize the sport and make it available to as many people as possible. He said, “The new figures are very encouraging but we need to work together as a sport to make the most of this opportunity by retaining those people who have returned to golf or tried it for the first time.”

He added, “We can achieve this by offering a variety of attractive and flexible options that encourage golfers to play more regularly and enjoy its many health and wellbeing benefits with family and friends.”

While there are many factors that have led to this demand, we are glad that the sport is finally getting the recognition it deserves. What do you think is the reason behind the surge?

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