The R&A Global Golf Participation Report 2023 estimates that, excluding the USA and Mexico, the total number of adults in the world who engage with golf is 61.2m.
The report went on to say: “This may seem a small percentage when compared against the total population represented by this report – nearly 8 billion people – but in reality, it highlights golf’s global appeal. Few other sports are played in such number in so many countries, by people of all ages, genders, demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. Even fewer can say that they have grown participation so rapidly over the past decade.”
The R&A calculates that in 2023 there were 42.7 million on-course golfers (9- and 18-hole) in R&A-affiliated markets (so excluding USA and Mexico), an increase of 3.1 million on-course golfers from the year before.
According to the National Golf Foundation, golf is now played in 206 out of the 251 countries and territories in the world. How long can the remaining 45 hold out against the global spread of golf?
Well in some cases, forever. Vatican City, the world’s smallest country, has a land area of under half a square kilometre, which will rather limit the scope for a golf course.
Tuvalu, with its population of 10,645, is the second-least populous country, behind Vatican City. In the Pacific Ocean, it consists of islands and atolls. It has poor soil and its total land area of about 10 square miles makes it the fourth smallest country.
It nevertheless has the Tuvula Golf Association, whose strapline is: “Never let the fear of failure keep you from playing the game of golf. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
The Tuvula Golf Association was the body behind the Tivalu Matchplay Championship 2024, a golf tournament designed to find the 2024 matchplay champions between the 8 islands of Tuvalu. The event was due to have taken place at Waitakere Golf Club in New Zealand, about 2,300 miles away, as Tuvula has no golf courses, but sadly, the event was cancelled.
Lichtenstein is another country where enthusiasm for the game is not matched by local provision of golf courses. It has 3,000 golfers, but no courses. Fortunately, unlike Tuvula, it has close neighbours who do have golf courses.
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