Visitor Revenue at Golf Courses Reaches New Heights

The golf industry in the UK & Ireland saw a record high for visitor revenue in 2024, with business growth agency, The Revenue Club, reporting from over 200 clubs to reveal that the average venue generated £170,462 in casual green fee income during the year, an 11% increase on the previous 12 months.

Such gains were made despite the very wet start to the year and challenging conditions for golf course operators, the level of demand over the peak season increased to record highs, and after a relatively strong final quarter, this was the best year ever for green fee revenue, eclipsing the previous best in 2020 by 8%.

Green fee income at the average golf course was made up of 68% online revenue which was the main driver of the growth with a 15% YOY uplift to £112,065, while offline revenue still grew, but at a slower pace of 5% to £58,397.

Chris Knight, Director of The Revenue Club stated: "The uplift in green fee prices has been one of the key growth drivers throughout the year with a 4% rise to £28.04 per person for the whole year. This is slightly above the inflation rate and has resulted from many golf course operators passing on increased operating costs to the customer, and a general acceptance of higher prices for many consumers.

"Demand appears to have remained the same, with the number of golfers visiting golf course booking engines averaging 15,615 users over the course of the year. Those that were browsing were more likely to go on and make a booking as the conversion rate increased to 10% for the year, illustrating the continued transition to online sales as the main form of green fee revenue."

Co-Director Rob Corcoran said: "2025 promises to get off to an excellent start if weather conditions do not hinder progress. The first two months of the winter season have delivered a 32% uplift on last November and December owing to the extremely wet weather in the latter part of 2023, so there is the likelihood that courses will be well ahead at the start of the summer. The level of demand in the high season shows that appetite from visitors remains high, and with a considered approach to both pricing and marketing, UK and Irish golf courses will continue to prosper from significant growth in this area."

The data here is encouraging as we look forward to the 2025 golf season, but the question of rising green fees, which was a main driver for growth last season, remains contentious as the spending power of visiting golfers is pushed closer to the limit, but it's clear that for many, that ceiling hasn't yet been reached.

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