Golfers Ready To Commit To Winter Season

By: Golfshake Editor | Mon 30 Nov 2020

Following this most unique of years and the remarkable summer golf boom, it will be fascinating to see whether that interest can be maintained throughout the winter months. Surveying 1,700 avid golfers who are keen members of the Golfshake Community, engaging with us either through the website or Score Tracker, we wanted to discover their plans for the winter season ahead.

Our survey was completed during the England lockdown in November, so likely targeted hardcore all weather golfers who are already committed to playing rather than those that may pack away their clubs during the UK 'off-season'.

The audience data consisted of 68% club golfers and a split of 92/8 for male and female golfers. Of the 32% who stated they were not golf club members, 8% indicated they hoped to join a golf club soon. The sample audience was also made up of 4% who had started playing this year, of which 20% of are not members of clubs but hoped to join soon and everyone stated they planned to continue with golf in 2021.

Survey Infographic

Survey Age Demographic

The England Lockdown

For those under restrictions in England at the time of the survey, 85% stated they planned to play golf immediately, with 13% basing their decision on the weather and only 2% saying they didn't plan to play. Club golfers stated they were more likely to play with 91% saying they would resume immediately with 8% deciding based on the weather. Whereas only 70% of the non-club golfers planned to resume immediately with 25% making their decision based on the weather.

Demand For Winter Golf Is High

Whilst this was a winter focused survey and ran in the off-season which would likely suggest those completing would be more likely to play all-year-round, the survey highlighted the interest in golf over the winter months.

87% of club golfers planned to play over the winter, 12% would play based on the weather and only 1% stated they didn't plan to play. In contrast, only 66% of the non-club golfers completing the survey said they planned to play over the winter, with 30% saying it would be based on the weather conditions and 5% saying they didn't plan to play.

For those starting in golf for the first time this year, the data was similar to the non-club golfers with 76% stating they would play over winter, 22% dependent on the weather conditions and only 3% saying no.

Committed To Their Game

As already highlighted, the survey respondents are likely an avid bunch of golfers completing the survey in October and during the England lockdown, but it was pleasing to see that 89% planned to practice over the winter in some form. The majority planned to practice at the range and whilst the demographic of club, non-club and new golfer may differ, along with the number of golfers and those completing the survey, the data below makes for interesting reading. The number of new golfers indicating they would see a golf pro is considerably higher than previous research we have carried out but may simply highlight that this time the respondents were a demographic more committed to year-round golf.

Survey Data - Who Practices and Where