The National Golf Foundation reported that green-grass golf participation surpassed 29 million in 2025, marking an eighth consecutive year of growth and a net increase of roughly one million golfers year over year, according to the foundation’s Graffis Report.
On-course participation has risen by over five million over the past eight years, which NGF says reinforces that golf is not a short-term COVID bump but a broader, lifestyle-driven shift toward experiences that deliver social connection, time outdoors, and physical, mental and emotional well-being.
According to a diagram NGF put together with their findings, 65% of on-course golfers are dualies who play both on- and off-course in the United States. Their findings also report that there are 48.1 million total U.S. golf participants.
NGF also reported that total golf participation (on-course and off-course, using a real club and ball with a full swing) climbed to an all-time high, fueled by both traditional play and the continued expansion of technology-enabled ranges, simulators and entertainment venues. These off-course formats are proving to be powerful entry points that complement, rather than replace, the green-grass game.
Notable takeaways from the Graffis Report include:
- On-course participation at its highest level since the Tiger Woods–aided peak era of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and total participation (on-course and off) is up 50% over the past decade to more than 48M
- National Rounds Played reached another all-time record, the fourth time in five years — achieved with roughly 2,000 fewer facilities than existed during that previous participation peak two decades ago
- More than eight million women and girls now playing on course, an all-time high, and a 46% increase compared to 2019 (pre-COVID)
- Record levels of diversity across golf’s participation base, with unprecedented on-course representation among females (28%) and people of color (26%)
- Roughly two-thirds of ‘green-grass’ beginners enter the game with ‘off-course’ experience
- With approximately 16,000 courses at nearly 14,000 facilities, the U.S. maintains its position as the world’s largest golf market
- Continued strength in demand and facility utilization support healthier economics and golf course spending on infrastructure and supplies, with nearly 70% of operators rating their financial condition as “good” or “excellent”
- Normalization of public pricing power, with average 18-hole fee up roughly 29% since 2019, which is broadly in line with cumulative U.S. inflation
