NGF’s 2017 participation report shows many of the trends in traditional participation to be encouraging: the total number of beginning golfers (those playing on a golf course for the first time ever in 2016) rose to a record-high 2.5 million, surpassing the previous record set in 2000, when Tiger Woods was at his prime and drawing newcomers to the game in unprecedented numbers.

There is even greater interest among those looking to take up the game. The NGF’s national study found that the number of non-golfers expressing the highest level of interest in playing golf increased by 7.6% to 12.8 million.

While the latest research indicates a modest 1.2% decline in on-course participation – dipping to 23.8 million (age 6+ who played at least once) in 2016 from 24.1 million in 2015, commitment to the sport in many respects is more evident than ever before. The number of committed golfers – a group that accounts for approximately 95% of all rounds-played and overall spending – rose for the first time in five years, from 19.5 million to 20.1 million.

The report also indicate that the junior golf population remains relatively stable at 2.9 million and continues to show a transformation in diversity compared to years past.

Furthermore, golf’s overall reach remains extensive, and steady. An estimated 95 million people (or one out of every three Americans age 6+) played, watched or read about golf in 2016, the same number as in 2015.

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