Think golfers are old? 1 statistic may surprise you

Although it is the sport of pop stars, actors and celebrities, Justin Timberlake, Kathryn Newton, Mark Wahlberg, Patrick Mahomes and hell, also Caitlin Clarkgolf is still in a battle against its longstanding reputation – namely, that it is a sport for old drivers.

But I have good news, golfers. I’m here to arm you with a fresh round of ammunition to help in that fight.

(Also, to the older players who may be reading this: I think you are awesome! Most of you are not “coders”, you taught my generation the game, you are still the backbone of it, you are a consumer main, you should keep playing as often as you can, and by doing so, you are actually reaping an epic health benefits that your non-golfer counterparts are not. Keep rocking.)

Let’s start here: Golfers, once again, are playing the game at a record pace.

Hot tee-time trends have continued for the fifth year in a row; The post-Covid golf boom has brought new players into the game, and those who already play are doing so more often. According to National Golf Foundationwhich keeps track of all kinds of fascinating industry facts and figures, 2024 is on track to be the fifth year in a row that more than 500 million rounds will be played on all of the United States’ over 15,000 golf courses.

Last year, 2023, set a record for most games of all time. And this year? Golfers are even playing more. Through August, year-to-date play was up 1.4 percent over the record-setting pace of 2023. While it’s smart not to get too caught up in specific percentage points — things like precipitation or warm weather can skew these numbers from year to year – the big picture is clear: more golfers are playing more golf.

So who are those golfers? Here they are some things NGF says about them:

– In 2023, 26.6 million people played golf on a course (18.4 million more played “off the course” at a simulator, Topgolf or comparable location)

-From 2020 to 2023, the number of field players in the US increased by nearly 2.3 million people

-As of 2019, the average age of a golfer has dropped significantly, from 44.6 to 43.5 YEARS

-In the last 10 years, golf participation among those 65 and older has increased by 64 percent

I think I speak for most golfers when I say it’s great that more people are playing golf (as long as you can get a short time). It’s great that young people are playing more golf. And it’s great that seniors are playing more golf, too. But despite the recent discovery of the point — that older players are playing more golf — breaking down the NGF by age had me doing a double take. As of the start of 2024, there are more golfers in the 18-34 age group than any other age group. Check out the chart below: There are 3.5 million young golfers (ages 6-17), 6.3 million golfers between 18 and 34, 5.3 million between 35 and 49, 6.1 million between 50 and 64, and 5.4 million golfers over the age of 65 .

I promised a stat out, so here it is: There are more golfers between the ages of 18 and 34 than there are over 65.

If you ask the average person to describe the average golfer, I bet they are more likely to describe someone over 65 than under 35. But it turns out it’s rarer to be in Jack Nicklaus’ age group than Scottie Scheffler’s. Rarer to be Bernhard Langer’s peer than Nelly Korda’s. Golfers are younger than I would have thought. Heck, once Tiger Woods turns 50 in 14 months, he’ll be older than 57 percent of his fellow golfers.

Before we get too carried away, though, there’s important context that comes with this data: The NGF isn’t talking about total rounds played. Those golfers who are over 50 and 65 are likely to play more often (and spend more freely) than their younger golfing counterparts, so unless your course is flooded all day, every day of 20 years old, don’t be surprised. But apparently, as today’s young players get older, they will also free up time for more rounds. And then we’ll hope that those behind them pick up the game as well.

Whatever age group you fall into, here’s hoping you’ll replicate this weekend at a course near you.

You can find more NGF fun facts and figures here here.

Dylan Dethier

Editor of Golf.com

Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. Resident of Williamstown, Mass. joined GOLF in 2017 after two years of struggling on the mini-tours. Dethier is a graduate of Williams College, where he majored in English, and he is the author of 18 in Americawhich details the year he spent as an 18-year-old living out of his car and golfing in every state.