R&A publishes report on golf facilities around the world (Mar 11)

March 11, 2015 – There are now more than 34,000 golf courses and facilities globally, a new report issued by the R&A has revealed.

Produced over four years by American-based market research organisation National Golf Foundation (NGF) to look at the game’s growing global appeal, the report showed that there were 34,011 golf courses and facilities in 206 countries at the end of 2014.

The United States is home to 45% of the world’s golf facilities, more than double the whole of Europe, with 79% located in 10 countries including England and Scotland. There are 50 countries with only one golf facility compared to 30 with more than 100.

“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,” Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A said. “It will provide a benchmark for future monitoring and enable us to identify areas of potential growth.

“The NGF has done an excellent job in conducting this research which we believe will be extremely useful for the golf industry at large.”

In the first report of its kind, the investigation also tracked the global development of the game, showing that 696 golf courses are under construction or in advance planning.

Belarus, Azerbaijan and Georgia all opened their first courses in the last two years, while Macedonia and Sao Tome and Principe are among the countries with facilities under construction.

The report will be produced biennially and will allow monitoring of the sport’s development in future years.

Original: http://www1.skysports.com/golf/news/12040/9753902/ra-publishes-report-on-golf-facilities-around-the-world