The National Golf Foundation released its midyear update on the status of golf course development across the globe, and the numbers are looking good. There are currently more than 500 golf course projects in some stage of development worldwide.
While the United States has the most courses in development by a significant margin, a total of 88 countries have a project in the works. NGF keeps a database of more than 37,600 golf courses worldwide that is updated on a 24-month cycle for international courses and annually for U.S. courses. The database team also keeps track of courses in development by monitoring 207 countries and territories where golf is played.
There are 124 courses being developed in the U.S. right now; Vietnam comes in second with 51; the U.K. rounds out the top three with 27. The rest of the field hovers around 10-15 courses and spans the rest of the world: India, Mexico, Spain, Australia, South Korea and more.
NGF noted that by mid-2024, 13 new courses have opened in the United States, including new additions to the fabled Bandon Dunes and Pinehurst. U.S. courses account for 57% of worldwide openings this year and there’s the possibility that twice as many could be open by the end of the year.
Additionally, closures for 18-hole-equivalent courses are down, with fewer than 40 courses closing through June 2024. This is a continuation of a declining closure trend that began last year; some 90 courses closed, which is the lowest number in almost 20 years.
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