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Baseball is dying, blockbuster movies are dying, cable TV is dying, and cash transactions are dying. But you know what's not dying? Golf. That’s right, the game that is stereotypically viewed as boring and exclusive only to wealthy white men has actually seen a recent spike in popularity. This spike is found in all demographics, not just the ones you'd expect to see. Of the 28 million Americans who played golf last year, 28% were women. That means in every foursome that teed off across the country, at least one, on average, was a female - not at all what most people would expect to see.
Last year, 6.5 million people across the country aged 18 to 34 played golf. Part of this rise in young golfers can be attributed to the growing number of golf simulators and virtual ranges, such as Topgolf, popping up across the country. These outlets provide more affordable and less time-consuming ways for young people to play golf.
These outlets capitalized on the first recent spike in golfers: the COVID spike. From 2020-2024, golf saw a steady rise that can largely be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. In those years, there was a 38% increase in golfers from 2019. During the shutdown, golf was one of the only safe activities people participated in. As you can imagine, with people so desperate for something to do, it only makes sense that golf would rise in popularity.
As a result of this COVID spike, golf influencers caught fire. Golf has grown on all social media platforms recently, with the tag #golftok getting 1.1 million posts on TikTok last year. However, the platform that has got the most traction by far is YouTube. The rise of the popular YouTube golf genre is hard to miss. In 2020, Rick Shiels, a British golf amateur, was the first ever golf YouTube channel to reach 1 million subscribers. Since then, he has been surpassed by the likes of Good Good, Bob Does Sports, and Foreplay Golf. Certain professional golfers have ridden this trend as well. Namely, Bryson DeChambeau, world number 22 and last year's U.S. Open champion, started his YouTube channel four years ago. Since then, he has amassed 2.44 million subscribers, blurring the lines between pro golfer and influencer.
Since the beginning of this decade, everything has fallen into place for golf to grow, and the numbers indicate no signs of slowing down. This new generation can change the conventional thinking about golf.
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