How many Golf Holes are there in the World? Answer 576,534
18 April 2015
Thanks to a report just published by the R&A we now know that there are 576,534 golf holes in the world. However, given that there are 696 new developments in planning or construction, this number is already out-of-date.
These half a million golf holes are spread over 34,011 golf facilities round the world, giving an average of 17 holes per facility! What this means is that there are still a large number of 9-hole courses that are almost, but not quite, made up for by the number of facilities with two or more golf courses.
Although the report tell us little that is new, it does reflect the fact that golf is the product of middle class democracy, political stability and economic prosperity.
The report compiled by NGF in America shows the United States of America has, by far, the most golf courses in the world – 15,372 - although this is down from its peak of 16,052, reflecting the toll that the recession has taken. America still has almost half the golf courses in the world, though it is only 7th in rankings of population per golf course/hole.
Japan, Canada and England each have 2,000+ golf facilities, though with different land masses and population distributions. Australia is the only other country to have over 1,000. Less than 10 countries have over 500 courses and 18 countries account for 88% of the world's golf courses, shown in the table below.
|
18 countries with most courses |
Approx Population |
Golf Holes |
Golf Facilities |
Population per golf hole |
|
Scotland |
5,327,700 | 9,384 | 552 | 568 |
|
Ireland |
4,605,501 |
8,024 |
472 |
574 |
|
New Zealand |
4,500,000 |
7,106 |
418 |
633 |
|
Australia |
22,900,000 |
27,676 |
1,628 |
827 |
|
Canada |
35,344,962 |
40,171 |
2,363 |
880 |
|
Sweden |
9,640,000 |
8,347 |
491 |
1,155 |
|
USA |
320,583,000 |
261,324 |
15,372 |
1,227 |
|
England |
53,500,000 |
35,428 |
2,084 |
1,510 |
|
Japan |
126,999,808 |
40,511 |
2,383 |
3,135 |
|
France |
63,380,000 |
11,016 |
648 |
5,753 |
|
South Africa |
54,000,000 |
8,704 |
512 |
6,204 |
|
Spain |
46,770,000 |
7,429 |
437 |
6,296 |
|
Germany |
82,652,256 |
12,699 |
747 |
6,509 |
|
South Korea |
51,202,130 |
7,599 |
447 |
6,738 |
|
Argentina |
41,000,000 |
5,423 |
319 |
7,560 |
|
Italy |
61,070,224 |
4,845 |
285 |
12,605 |
| China | 1,360,763,000 | 8,041 | 473 | 169,228 |
|
India |
1,267,401,849 |
4,590 |
270 |
276,122 |
|
29,901 |
88% |
According to the report only 206 of the designated 239 countries in the world have any golf courses at all. Even some of the countries in Europe, which accounts for 22% of all the world’s golf, do not yet have a course, (though you will struggle to work out which ones they are.)
Asia is developing rapidly, but is handicapped by environmental and political restrictions. There is a ban on course development in China because of concerns on water shortage and in South Korea clubs are under particular financial pressures. At present Asia accounts 14% of golf courses and, with only 270 courses, India is well down the list, although it can boast one the oldest golf clubs in the world Royal Calcutta at 1829.
Perhaps surprisingly, most golf clubs around the world are public. Private clubs only account for 29% of the total facilities.
Scotland and Ireland lead the table in the number of golf holes and courses per head of population, and it would not take much for the Irish to overtake the Scots, a distinct possibility given their more proactive nature and the lack to political support for golf development in many areas of Scotland.
Scotland has one golf hole for every 568 people which is approximately one 18-hole golf course for every 10,000 inhabitants. It is believed that half of Scotsmen own golf clubs and about 10% of the women, which means one course per 3,000 potential golfers. At the other end of the table, China has appox one course per 3,000,000 people and India has one course per 4,500,000 people. They both have a ways to go yet!
The full report Golf around the World 2015 is on the R&A website.