For the past few years we’ve have been bombarded with reports of how golf is dying. That there are fewer players picking up the game and those regular players are playing less. Course closings out number course openings and the game is old, stale and slow so it will never appeal to this generation that demands instant gratification.
Well all hope is not lost for the game of golf.
According to a report by the National Golf Foundation, funded by The Royal and Ancient there is plenty of growth taking place in the game. It’s just not concentrated in the United States. 
The report states that the U.S. is home to 45% of the world’s golf courses and says there are 696 courses under construction or being planned worldwide. Of those 696, 80% are in Asia, Europe and North America but other countries that are building their first courses show that the game is growing worldwide,“Belarus, Azerbaijan and Georgia opening their first golf courses in the last two years and initial courses under construction in countries as diverse as Macedonia and Sao Tome and Principe.”
Peter Dawson of The R&A said, “The new report provides a fascinating insight in to the development of golf around the world and gives us a precise measure of the number of facilities for the first time.”
From the report:
This unprecedented report reveals the truly global nature of the sport of golf and explores its potential for growth. It represents the culmination of a lengthy project to identify and verify every golf course in the world. Funded by The R&A and 15 of the world’s leading golf companies, the project was conceived and undertaken by the NGF, a U.S. based golf market research organization that has long maintained a complete list of American courses. Over the four-year project, the NGF directed over 25,000 hours of labor towards the creation of what is now the definitive database of golf courses outside the U.S.
In addition to establishing the first “official” count of the world’s golf courses, it will now be possible to accurately track golf’s growth around the world and identify areas of potential development. It will help to inform decisions made by The R&A and other organizations involved in the delivery of golf; a sport which will re-enter the Olympic Games next year.
Here are some interesting facts from the report which can be viewed here.
There are 8 countries with over 500 golf facilities.
The U.S. has 45% of the world’s golf facilities.
Europe has 22% of the world’s golf facilities.
Asia has 14% of the world’s golf facilities.
There are 34,011 facilities located in 206 countries.
Private clubs number 9,895.
Public courses total 24,116.
Worldwide Golf Developments
Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, plus island nations) have the most golf holes per capita, 1 hole per 1,210 people.
52% of the courses in development are tied to resort developments.
The majority of the courses under development, 30% are in Asia.
In North America from 2010-14, 58 courses opened. 108 courses closed.
The United States is home to 15,372 golf courses.
94% of Oceania’s courses are open to the public.
53% of the world’s golf supply is in North America.
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