How Many Golf Courses Are There In The World?

With the release of Golf Around the World 2019 by R&A, we discovered the countries that have the most golf courses.

The study revealed that 78% of the world’s supply of golf courses are located in just 10 countries: the United States, Japan, Canada, England, Australia, Germany, France, Republic of Korea, Sweden and Scotland.

Number of golf courses in the world – 38,864

USA – 16,752

Japan – 3,169

Canada – 2,633

England – 2,270

Australia – 1,616

Germany – 1,050

France – 804

South Korea – 798

Sweden – 662

Scotland – 614

China – 599

Spain – 497

Ireland – 494

South Africa – 489

New Zealand – 418

Argentina – 349

Denmark – 346

Netherlands – 330

Italy – 321

Thailand – 315

North America has 51% of the world’s golf courses, with the USA boasting 43%.

• Rankings: UK and Ireland’s top 100 golf courses 2019/20

Number of golf courses in Europe – 8,940 (23% of world’s total)

Interestingly, Europe has the second-largest regional share with 23% of the world’s total.

England is far and away the number one golfing country in Europe; home to 2,270 golf courses, more than every country in the world barring USA, Japan and Canada.

England has a total of 31,620 golf holes, and the study also revealed that 25% of courses in GB and Ireland are 9 holers.

Europe has a total of 8,940 courses with 151 currently under development.

That’s just over half the amount in the USA which is home to a whopping 16,752, 43% of the world’s supply.

In second place in Europe is Germany, with a total below half of that in England, at 1,050 golf courses.

France are 3rd with 804, Sweden 4th with 662 and Scotland in 5th with 614 golf courses.

Spain takes 6th place in the list with 497 golf courses, while Ireland holds slightly less with 494 to sit 7th.

Rounding off the top 10 are Denmark (346), the Netherlands (330) and Italy, with 321 golf courses.

England – 2,270

Germany – 1,050

France – 804

Sweden – 662

Scotland – 614

Spain – 497

Ireland – 494

Denmark – 346

Netherlands – 330

Italy – 321

Austria – 205

Finland – 191

Norway – 191

Wales – 186

Czech Republic – 132

Belgium – 121

Switzerland – 114

Portugal – 106

Iceland – 75

In the bottom five comes Bosnia and Herzegovina (2), Serbia (2), Belarus (2), the Faroe Islands (1) and finally, Malta with just one golf course!

Across the continent, you will find no less than 8,940 golf courses, amounting to 125,268 golf holes.

With help from GolfSupport.com

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