Spring has finally sprung and with it golf season has arrived in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Area golfers will prepare their clubs in the coming days, or already have, for another season on the links.
Are more people dusting off their equipment this year than in year’s prior? At least nationally, yes. Locally, it’s harder to say.
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According to the National Golf Foundation, the game is getting more popular year-after-year. Total golf participation in the United States climbed to 47.2 million last year, a 5 percent gain versus 2023 and a 38 percent gain since 2019.
Is that trend reflected locally? There isn’t any hard data to track, but local golf courses are in agreement the sport is getting more popular.
Zach Hale is part of a foursome that bought Riverside Golf Course in 2021 and a current owner. Though the ownership group put a lot of time and money into renovating and improving the course, Hale believes the sport’s popularity is on the rise.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in golf play over the last four years, but it will probably be difficult to determine how much of that increased play is a result of the ‘Covid Boom’ and how much of it is attributed to a nicer facility, better playing conditions, drainage improvements and overall culture,” Hale said. “I’m an avid golfer and even though I don’t play other courses much due to time constraints, I tend to associate with a variety of golfers and I do think Covid has created an increase in play throughout northwestern Pennsylvania.”
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Hale said league play increased from two popular men’s leagues to league competition five nights a week.
“The market for golf in northwest Pennsylvania is crowded, but I also feel the experience overall is improving and we are seeing an increase in summer play from groups who travel,” Hale said. “While we are obviously competitors in the local market, having a variety of quality courses at an affordable price in such a tight geographic area brings in more out of town play and we all seem to benefit from that.”
With a rise in popularity comes new golfers and players that are not familiar with golf etiquette. Videos online of players, typically young adults, driving golf carts into bunkers, ponds and generally destroying the course are becoming more and more common.
That behavior doesn’t seem to be on the rise locally, at least at Riverside.
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“While there are always going to be issues with public golf, I actually feel like our etiquette has improved since we started, but I tend to feel it is more because of an increase in professional culture and upscale experience,” Hale said. “Increased costs (justified by increased investments into the course) also bring a more serious and/or respectful player to the tee sheet.”
At The Country Club of Meadville, a private golf course, tracking golf popularity is a bit different. The Country Club offers more than just golf, but regardless, Mike Ferry, head golf professional, said demand is higher than it was pre-pandemic.
“Golf has increased all over the country. In Crawford County I would say there has been a slight increase,” Ferry said. “Our membership growth is growing and we are getting close to being full. Our social membership is also growing after the addition of pickleball courts and a pool bar.”
It remains to be seen if the sport will continue to trend upward in popularity, but if the past few years are an indicator, more than 150 million Americans might be playing golf in 2025.
