More than 16 million people in the UK and Ireland have played some form of golf in the past 12 months, according to research commissioned by the Professional Golfers’ Association.
This corresponds to around 30% of adults using driving ranges, pitch-and-putt facilities, adventure golf, simulators or are out on the golf course.
A further 6.1 million people engage with golf through the media.
“This has been an enlightening exercise for us,” PGA chief Robert Maxfield said.
“It has confirmed our expectation that golf has changed irrevocably and that there are huge opportunities for the golf industry to be more inclusive of different forms of the game and the people who play them.
“The report gives us detailed insight and is a ground-breaking look at how far the game has come and how big the opportunity is to tap into a huge population of people already engaged in golf that we haven’t seen in the past.
“It gives the industry the chance to diversify the sport’s fan base and user base, and that’s hugely exciting.”
A total of 22.4 million people are engaged in golf, with 4.9m playing traditional golf on courses and 11.4m experiencing the sport away from courses.
The research, carried out by Ipsos, is part of a ‘Golf for everyone’ project which aims to better understand the landscape of sport in the UK.