Were you a better than average golfer in 2024? This new data will tell you

Does it deliver results?

The USGA does. As part of the year-end accounting, the governing body has counted the numbers from 2024 to produce its first report highlighting the participation of local players, drawing on information from more than 77 million points posted under World Handicap System (WHS).

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but data can also provide a vivid portrait. In this case, what do the numbers show?

For beginners, like much else in golf, participation at WHS is all the way down. More than 3.35 million golfers in the U.S. carried a handicap in 2024, a 6 percent increase over the previous year and a nearly 30 percent increase since 2020. Of those golfers, a large number and in increments they played 9-hole rounds. In fact, they did so at a record rate, posting more than 13.7 million 9-hole scores, up 8 percent from last year and up 40 percent since 2020.

Those Round with 9 holes were particularly popular among women golfers who created a handicap in 2024; they chose to play nine more than half the time (newly registered male players played nine approximately a quarter of the time).

Numbers like these back up what you might suspect: Shorter outings are a good way to ease into the game.

They also reflect a broader trend. Short courses they’re all the rage, their tiniest footprints popping up everywhere from local municipal facilities to destination resorts. Many of these compact layouts are par-3 courses, which this year qualified for admission Course and slope estimatesallowing results from rounds played in them to be posted as well.

Changes of this nature are part of an ongoing effort by the USGA to make the WHS as faithful a reflection as possible of how the game is played around the country.

“It has been exciting to see the year-on-year trends develop as the World Disability System matures,” Steve Edmondson, the governing body’s managing director for disability and course assessment, said in a statement. The data, he said, has been used to inform a number of changes, “including updating how 9-hole scores are treated for handicap purposes”.

Data can also help dispel myths. Carrying a handicap is widely perceived as a practice reserved for strong players competing in elite events. Not so, the numbers show. Of the 77 million rounds posted in 2024, 94.5 percent were recreational. Playing – and posting – for fun is on the rise.

As for playing well, that depends on your standards. The snapshot based on year-end data reveals the following about golfers in the US: the average male golfer carries a handicap of 14.2; the average woman plays with 28.7. On average, male players scored more points (23.8), compared to 19.6 for female players.

There’s more in the report, including tidbits about a cocktail party. Most popular month for posting results? No wonder: June. State where 18 bore cartridges prevailed? That would be Nevada, where such rounds accounted for 93 percent of posted results. Meanwhile, Maine led the club for the highest percentage (32.6) of 9-hole rounds

The release of all this data coincides with technological changes aimed at making handicapping easier and more attractive than ever. These modifications include a newly redesigned GHIN mobile app, with an enhanced version of GHIN Rewind, a fun and informative feature that provides players with a personalized year-by-year review, complete with statistics on Handicap Index changes, total rounds played, the hardest and the easiest. courses, most played courses and more. As 2024 draws to a close, you can see a complete picture of your play over the last 12 months. Here, for reference, are some of my stats:

You will be able to do the same in 2025, provided you continue to complete the bargain. You will need to keep – and post – your results. If you haven’t been, you can register to do so here.