Golf participation remains static in England during 2012

A new study by the England Golf Partnership has suggested that the number of people playing the game as remained static over the past year, but there is growing interest from beginners and those returning to the game driven by this years Olympics.

The survey indicates that over 850,000 people play golf at least once a week, a similar number to year ago. What is clear is that the weather has a hug impact on participation levels with significant growth in the mild winter of 2011/2012 and a drop off during this summer which was largely wet across England.

Roger Moreland, the EGP’s Chief Operating Officer, commented: “The weather has clearly influenced participation and obviously that’s not something we can control.

“During the mild winter months the number of regular golfers rose by 69,000, which shows how popular golf is when the weather is right. It is disappointing that the atrocious weather in spring and much of the summer coincided with the peak playing period.

“Golf obviously cannot control the weather and there are many challenges to be faced, not least of which is the economic environment. Nonetheless, there are also exciting opportunities to be grasped. The Olympics has created huge interest in sport and has helped to encourage very large numbers of people to try golf. We expect many of them to go on to take part regularly, especially as golf will also become an Olympic sport in 2016.”

Encouragingly a record number of 70,000 people tried the EGP taster sessions this summer and there has been a growth of 8% of Adults taking up the game.