The R&A (Royal and Ancient), recently, released a report titled ‘Golf around the world 2015’. Interesting elements of this report are reproduced and discussed in this column.

The preface states, “This unprecedented report reveals the truly global nature of the sport of golf and explores its potential for growth. In addition to establishing the first “official” count of golf courses, it will now be possible to accurately monitor golf’s growth around the globe and identify areas for potential development.”

Countries with 100+ golf facilities

Apparently, the development in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean is gaining momentum, but on the supply side, traditional golfing countries rule the roost. Most countries have only one golf course, several have more than 100 and even fewer are home to 500 or more.

The western hemisphere boasts of the major supply. North and South America are home to 55 per cent of the global supply (45 per cent of the facilities are in the U.S). Europe has the second-largest supply with 22 per cent of the global total, followed by Asia with 14 per cent and Oceania with 6 per cent.

Clearly, golf’s supply is clearly strongest in the most developed nations, but don’t write off the rest of the countries!

Global golf score card

While golf is spreading around the globe, the supply remains highly concentrated among the top 20 golfing nations.

As of 2014, 34011 golf facilities (24116 public and 9895 private) with 576534 golf holes have been identified in 206 countries. 79 per cent of this supply is located in the top-10 golfing countries, including Australia, Canada, England, Japan and the United States. An interesting outcome, busting the elitist myth, is that the sport remains largely accessible, with 71 per cent open to the public.

In the pipeline

There are 696 new golf course projects being developed globally, which will increase supply by 2 per cent. While this continues to be highly concentrated among traditional golfing nations, new courses are opening in exotic locales.

With 80 per cent of these projects located in Asia (65), Europe (159) and North America (200), the sport is reaching parts of the globe where golf hasn’t been largely present before, such as Africa (65), Oceania (35) and South America (30). Belarus and Azerbaijan debuted in 2013, Georgia in June 2014 with Macedonia, Sao Tome and Principe, Bolivia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Oman, Qatar and UAE adding to existing supply.

The Asian influence

Asia covers 31 per cent of the total land on earth, and 53 out of its 55 countries contribute to 14 per cent of global golf supply and eight countries account for 90 per cent of the region’s supply.

Japan alone accounts for 50 per cent with 2383 facilities. Russia, despite having the largest landmass in the region, has only 20 facilities.

China, one of the fastest-growing golf countries on earth, has 473 facilities, following a 2004 government-imposed ban on golf course construction. In South Korea, though a popular sport, the supply of affordable public courses is insufficient to meet demand.

Asia is home to the most new golf projects globally, with 207 courses under development, with 27 countries having at least one new project under development. Interestingly, Japan has nothing new to offer!

The majority of the growth is in China, with 56 courses under development, with 46 projects on hold. India ranks second with 32 courses under development, followed by Vietnam with 18. Golf projects are also underway in the Middle Eastern part of the region, including Israel, Jordan, Oman, Iran and Lebanon.

Wherever, whatever, the globalisation of the game continues and Asia, particularly India, remains a strong focus area, and this development fits in nicely with the IGU’s plans to grow the game to the half million mark!

Ishwar Achanta is an international golf administrator and council member of the Indian Golf Union.