This is the second of an occasional series entitled
“More than a game” that discuss aspects of the economics of golf.
In case you missed it here is the first post in the series
Golf may sometimes be judged by the wrong scorecard. We celebrate major championships, are impressed by fantastic shots, marvel at great courses and debate the latest equipment, yet perhaps the game’s greatest success has nothing to do with birdies or bogeys.
Perhaps there is a second way of measuring golf. Quietly and almost imperceptibly, over the past century, golf has become one of the world’s most successful sporting industries, generating well over US$100 billion annually and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs.
What is particularly striking is that different countries have achieved this prosperity in entirely different ways.
The United States is the undisputed giant in golf economics. With around 16,000 golf courses and more than 25 million regular golfers, its golf economy exceeds US$100 billion each year. The engine is participation. Millions of golfers sustain an enormous ecosystem of clubs, greenkeepers, coaches, equipment manufacturers, retailers, hospitality businesses, real estate developments and professional tournaments. America demonstrates what happens when golf becomes a mainstream recreational activity.
England follows a similar, if smaller, model. Its nearly 2,000 courses support one of Europe’s largest golfing populations, and much of the game’s economic value comes from domestic participation rather than international visitors. The Open Championship provides periodic boosts, but England’s golf economy rests on the simple fact that so many people play the game.
Spain tells a different story. It has not built its golf industry on history or on the sheer scale of participation, but on climate. During the winter months, golfers from Britain, Germany and Scandinavia head south in search of sunshine. The Costa del Sol, Murcia, Alicante, Mallorca and the Canary Islands have transformed reliable weather into a valuable export. Golf extends the tourist season, fills hotels outside the summer months and supports restaurants, transport and local businesses long after the beach holiday crowds have departed.
Then there are Scotland and Ireland, whose success is founded on something far more difficult to reproduce. Neither can compete with America’s scale nor Spain’s winter sunshine. Instead, they have created a premium product built on authenticity, landscape and history.
Scotland occupies a unique place in the game. It is not simply a country with famous golf courses; it is the spiritual home of golf itself. St Andrews, Carnoustie, Muirfield, Dornoch, Troon and dozens of other historic venues have become destinations that golfers dream of visiting, sometimes for decades, before making the pilgrimage.
That heritage has remarkable economic value.
Golf is estimated to contribute around £1 billion annually to the Scottish economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs. Yet the headline figures tell only part of the story. Overseas golfers are among Scotland’s highest-spending visitors, spending around four times more than the average international tourist. A golfing holiday rarely consists of golf alone. Visitors stay in hotels, dine in restaurants, hire cars, visit castles, tour distilleries and explore the Highlands and Islands. Golf becomes the catalyst for a much broader visitor economy.
The influence of St Andrews alone is extraordinary. Recent studies estimate that St Andrews Links contributes more than £300 million every year to the Scottish economy—an economic impact comparable to hosting an Open Championship annually, but achieved quietly, every year, through visitors who simply wish to walk the same fairways as Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.
Ireland has followed a remarkably similar path. Courses such as Royal County Down, Royal Portrush, Ballybunion and Lahinch consistently rank among the finest in the world and attract affluent visitors, particularly from North America. High end resorts like Adare Manor cater for the uber wealthy golfers and their families. Like Scotland, Ireland has learned that golfers seeking a once-in-a-lifetime experience are willing to travel long distances and to spend generously. Their visits support hotels, restaurants, transport providers and local communities, often outside the traditional summer tourist season. Together, Scotland and Ireland have shown that world-class links golf is not merely a sporting asset but a highly valuable export.
Economists would describe this as comparative advantage. America excels through scale. Spain capitalises on climate. Scotland exports heritage. Ireland combines spectacular natural links with a warm welcome. Each has found a different route to success by exploiting what it possesses in abundance rather than trying to imitate others.
There is, however, one final observation with regard to geography. Scotland accounts for a tiny fraction of the world’s population, yet an astonishing proportion of the courses that appear in international “Top 100” rankings are found on Scottish soil. That concentration of excellence explains why golfers continue to cross oceans to play there. It also explains why golf deserves to be considered alongside whisky as one of Scotland’s great exports.
The economic impact of golf extends much further. Consider South Africa with a rich tradition of golf and generally great climates. Australia and New Zealand recapitulate that. The Far East and in particular Thailand has a thriving tourist-based golf economy. The nouveau riche of China spend extensively on golf as do the South Koreans and Japanese. The Middle East, and in particular Dubai, has used golf as an economic lever to drive major tourist economies.
Another factor in the economic growth of golf has been the televising of professional golf. Watch any event and it’s obvious that it is, in effect, a potent tourism advert! Indeed notice how many have as co-sponsors National or local Tourist organizations!
Everywhere, and particularly since the Covid pandemic, golf has boomed. For the USA this is estimated to be around 40% increase over 2019. Estimates of growth globally are possibly less certain but are likely of a similar order. What is certain is that the growth is continuing!
We often describe golf as a game. It is, of course, first and foremost. But it is also an industry, a tourism engine, a television product, a custodian of landscapes and a significant generator of prosperity.
Few sports can claim to shape national economies in quite the same way.
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