Golf is growing across the world. Participation remains strong in the United States, Europe and Great Britain, Australia has passed four million adult participants, Asia is the largest R&A region for adult golf participation, and Thailand is combining a substantial golf infrastructure with internationally successful players and an established golf-travel industry.
The modern global golf boom is therefore much bigger than one country or one trend. Golf has become easier to try, younger and more diverse audiences are entering the game, simulators and ranges have created new entry points, digital media has changed how the sport is discovered, and golf increasingly overlaps with travel, lifestyle and entertainment.
This guide looks at why golf is becoming more popular, what the latest participation data tells us across major markets, why Asia matters to golf’s future and where Thailand fits into the wider growth of the game.
This article focuses specifically on global golf participation and the forces driving its growth. Detailed Thailand course comparisons, destination planning, women’s golf travel and golf content creation are intentionally covered by the specialist Fairways of Eden guides linked throughout the article.
Is Golf Actually Growing? The Latest Global Picture
Yes. The latest participation research shows that golf’s growth extends across traditional courses and newer ways of playing.
The R&A Global Golf Participation Report 2025, published in 2026, recorded 112.2 million adults and juniors participating in golf across all formats in its affiliated markets outside the United States and Mexico. That was 4.2 million more participants than a year earlier.
The United States tells the same story from another major market. The National Golf Foundation recorded 48.1 million Americans participating on or off the course in 2025, including 29.1 million traditional on-course golfers and 19 million people who participated exclusively through off-course golf.
Europe, Asia and Oceania show different patterns again. Asia leads R&A regions in adult participation, Europe leads in junior participation, and Australia has recorded strong growth across traditional and alternative forms of the game.
Participation definitions differ between national and regional studies, so these figures should be read as market indicators rather than direct like-for-like comparisons.
Why Is Golf Becoming More Popular?
There is no single cause behind the current golf boom.
The pandemic accelerated outdoor participation, but the sport did not simply return to its previous level afterwards. In the United States, total on- and off-course participation remains more than 40% above 2019. Golf in Australia has continued growing for several consecutive years, while the R&A recorded another increase in worldwide participation between 2024 and 2025.
The bigger structural change is accessibility. A newcomer no longer has to begin with an 18-hole round. Driving ranges, indoor simulators, entertainment venues, nine-hole golf and technology-enabled practice give people easier ways to experience the game.
Golf has also become more social. Friendly matches, simulator nights, group golf trips and digital communities fit a much broader lifestyle than the traditional image of formal club golf.
That same pattern is visible in Asia. Large established markets such as Japan and Korea sit alongside growing participation and golf industries across Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.
Asia Is Central to the Modern Golf Boom
Asia is already the largest R&A region for adult golf participation, with 26.2 million adults participating in 2025. Another 9.7 million juniors took part in the sport across the region.
Japan and Korea remain enormous golf markets, but the Asian golf story extends far beyond them. Southeast Asia combines domestic participation, professional golf, resort development and international golf tourism in a way that makes the region particularly important to the future of the sport.
The R&A’s country data estimates approximately 263,000 traditional 9- and 18-hole golfers in Malaysia, 190,000 in Vietnam, 140,000 in Singapore and 130,000 in Thailand.
Those markets should not be treated as interchangeable. Their golf cultures, course networks and travel industries are very different. For golfers comparing destinations rather than participation trends, our dedicated Golf in Asia guide looks specifically at the travel side of the region.
The Boom Is Visible in Established Golf Markets Too
United States: Traditional Golf and Off-Course Golf Are Growing Together
The United States remains one of golf’s largest individual markets. In 2025, 29.1 million Americans played on a golf course while another 19 million participated exclusively through driving ranges, simulators and golf-entertainment venues.
The National Golf Foundation also recorded 3.3 million on-course beginners in 2025. At least three million newcomers have tried traditional golf every year since 2020.
That combination is important: off-course golf is not necessarily replacing traditional golf. It is also becoming an entry route into it.
Europe and Great Britain & Ireland: Strong Adult and Junior Participation
Europe recorded 20.6 million adult golf participants in the latest R&A research and, with 19.9 million juniors, has the largest junior participation total of any R&A region.
Great Britain and Ireland remain at the heart of European golf culture, but the way families interact with the sport is changing. The R&A found that 70% of GB&I households with children aged 6–17 had participated in some form of golf activity during the previous year. Technology-enabled driving ranges were part of that picture, showing that newer golf formats are becoming relevant even in golf’s oldest markets.
Germany provides another sign of changing demographics: women account for 41% of adult golf participants in the R&A’s latest market analysis.
Australia: More Than Four Million Adults Now Participate
Australia provides one of the clearest examples of golf widening beyond traditional club membership.
Golf Australia’s 2024/25 participation research reported that more than four million Australian adults played golf on a course, range, simulator or mini-golf venue — roughly one in five adults. Participation increased by 5.2%, while traditional golf-club membership reached 477,220.
Growth is particularly visible among younger players. More than 41% of new club members were under 35, junior membership increased by 17.9%, and more than 1.5 million Australians used off-course golf facilities.
The lesson from the US, Britain, Europe, Australia and Asia is remarkably consistent: golf is growing partly because people now have more ways to enter it.
Women and Younger Golfers Are Changing Who the Sport Is For
The modern golf boom is not simply producing more of the same golfer.
Across the R&A’s nine largest adult participation markets, women represented 34% of total adult participation in 2025, up from 31%. Among adults playing formats other than traditional 9- or 18-hole golf, women represented 53%.
Australia is seeing the same shift. Women now account for a large share of new participants, while junior and under-35 membership are rising strongly. Europe leads the R&A regions in junior golf, and Asia now has 9.7 million junior participants.
This matters because younger players and women are not simply adding participation numbers. They are changing golf’s culture, expectations and the way the sport is presented.
Thailand provides an especially visible example through women’s professional golf.
Thailand’s Women Golfers Have Become Global Ambassadors for the Game
Thailand has developed one of the strongest groups of female professional golfers outside golf’s traditional Western markets.
The LPGA’s 2026 player list includes 12 Thai players, including Jeeno Thitikul, Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn, Patty Tavatanakit, Pajaree Anannarukarn, Chanettee Wannasaen and Arpichaya Yubol.
Jeeno Thitikul has become one of Thailand’s most visible international sports figures. She won the LPGA’s 2025 Rolex Player of the Year Award and Vare Trophy, reached World No. 1 and then won the 2026 Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club Old Course in Pattaya.
She followed two other Thai winners of the country’s LPGA event: Ariya Jutanugarn in 2021 and Patty Tavatanakit in 2024. Ariya’s long international career and Patty’s major-championship success helped establish Thailand as a serious force in women’s professional golf before Jeeno’s rise to the top of the world rankings.
The value of that success is larger than tournament results. Young golfers in Thailand can now see Thai players winning major events, reaching World No. 1 and competing successfully against the best players from the United States, Korea, Japan, Europe and Australia.
For the travel experience specifically from a female golfer’s perspective, our separate guide covers golf holidays for women in Thailand.
Thailand Is Also Investing in the Next Generation
Professional success only matters for long-term participation if golfers also have ways to enter the game.
In 2025, the Thailand Golf Foundation, The R&A and the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation launched the Community Golf Instructor Programme to develop local instructors and expand access to golf among young people, including communities where exposure to the sport has traditionally been limited.
The first programme brought together representatives from 11 schools and one university, and its stated aim is broader than producing elite players: it is designed to increase the overall golfing population in Thailand.
This creates an important connection between Thailand’s international stars and grassroots development. Professional players make the sport visible; participation programmes make it accessible.
Social Media Changed How the World Discovers Golf
Social media did not create the global golf boom by itself, but it has changed golf’s image and distribution.
Traditional broadcasting concentrates mainly on elite tournament golf. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and podcasts show a much wider version of the game: ordinary rounds, bad shots, challenges, equipment, travel, humour and friendship.
Creators such as Good Good, Rick Shiels and Bob Does Sports helped demonstrate that golf can work as digital entertainment without professional-level performance being the main attraction. Professional players producing their own content have blurred that boundary further.
This matters in every major market. A potential golfer in London, Bangkok, Sydney or California can discover the game through the same platforms, while local creators and professional stars give that interest a regional identity.
For creators planning to produce golf content in Thailand rather than simply consume it, our dedicated Golf Content Creators in Thailand guide covers course filming, creator itineraries, production logistics and collaboration opportunities with Fairways of Eden.
Golf Has Become More Than an 18-Hole Sport
The wider participation numbers point to one of the biggest changes in modern golf: being interested in golf no longer necessarily starts with an 18-hole round.
Someone can begin through a simulator in Seoul, a technology-enabled range in Britain, an entertainment venue in the United States, a social golf programme in Australia or a driving range in Bangkok.
Some of those players will remain off-course participants. Others will move into traditional golf. Either way, the sport has gained new entry points.
Golf also overlaps increasingly with fitness, fashion, technology, friendship, food, resorts and travel. Our dedicated article on why golf can support wellbeing and reduce stress looks separately at the health and lifestyle side of the game.
How the Global Golf Boom Connects With Thailand Golf Travel
A larger and more digitally connected golfer population also changes how golf destinations are discovered.
Players in Europe, Britain, Australia, the United States and Asia can now watch full rounds, course reviews and travel videos from Thailand before they ever begin planning a trip. International courses that once depended heavily on magazines, televised tournaments or traditional brochures can now become part of a golfer’s bucket list through everyday digital content.
Thailand is particularly well suited to this type of golf traveller because the experience changes dramatically between regions. Bangkok combines golf with a major city, Pattaya offers one of the country’s densest concentrations of courses, Phuket combines golf with island resorts, Hua Hin provides a quieter coastal base and Chiang Mai adds a completely different northern landscape.
Thailand’s golf-tourism industry is also actively connected to international markets. The Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Thailand Golf Travel Mart 2025 brought 70 international golf-holiday specialists from 17 countries together with 67 Thai golf and tourism businesses, more than 2,000 scheduled business appointments and 30 international media representatives.
This is where Fairways of Eden sits within the wider story. Fairways of Eden provides tee-time booking at more than 70 golf courses across nine Thailand golf regions, helping international golfers turn interest in Thailand into an actual combination of courses, destinations, hotels and private transfers.
For detailed regional comparisons, use our Thailand golf destination guide. For individual course information, green fees and tee times, browse the Thailand golf course directory.
If Thailand would be your first dedicated golf trip, our First-Time Golf Holiday in Thailand guide covers the planning process in detail.
Golf Content and Golf Travel Now Reinforce Each Other
The relationship between golf media and golf travel increasingly works in both directions.
A golfer discovers a course online, adds it to a future trip, eventually plays it and shares the experience with another audience. That new content can introduce the destination to someone in an entirely different market.
For Thailand, this matters because the country offers enough regional contrast to produce very different golf stories within one trip. A visitor can move from championship golf around Pattaya to island golf in Phuket or mountain surroundings in Chiang Mai without leaving the country.
Creators planning this type of production should continue to our Thailand Golf Content Creator guide, which focuses specifically on filming, access and collaborations rather than the broader participation trends covered here.
Is the Global Golf Boom Sustainable?
No growth cycle is guaranteed to continue forever, but today’s golf boom has several advantages previous growth periods did not.
Traditional course participation remains strong in major markets. Off-course golf has created new entry points. Europe has a large junior pipeline. Australia is attracting younger members. Women represent a growing share of the game. Asia already leads R&A adult participation, while Thailand combines professional success, grassroots development and a mature golf-tourism sector.
The long-term challenge is therefore not simply attracting attention. It is converting occasional participants into people who continue playing.
Golf now has more front doors than it used to. Someone can arrive through a course, simulator, driving range, school programme, professional tournament, YouTube channel, friend or golf holiday. That may be the strongest reason the current boom looks more durable than a single temporary surge.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Global Golf Boom
Is golf actually becoming more popular?
Yes. Participation remains strong across major golf markets. The R&A recorded 112.2 million adult and junior participants in its affiliated markets in 2025, while the United States reached 48.1 million on- and off-course participants.
Why is golf growing worldwide?
Golf has become easier to try through ranges, simulators and shorter formats. Younger and more diverse audiences are entering the sport, social golf has expanded, and digital media has made golf more visible and relatable.
Is golf growing in Asia?
Yes. Asia is the largest R&A region for adult golf participation, with 26.2 million adults in 2025, plus 9.7 million junior participants.
Is golf growing in Europe?
Europe recorded 20.6 million adult participants in 2025 and leads the R&A regions in junior golf with 19.9 million participants.
Is golf growing in Australia?
Yes. More than four million Australian adults participated in golf in 2024/25, with growth across club membership, junior participation and off-course formats.
How important is golf in Thailand?
Thailand has around 130,000 traditional 9- and 18-hole golfers in the latest R&A country data, more than 300 recorded golf courses, internationally successful professional players and an established international golf-tourism industry.
Why are Thai female golfers important to the growth of golf?
Players including Jeeno Thitikul, Ariya Jutanugarn and Patty Tavatanakit have given Thailand highly visible international champions. Their success provides local role models while raising Thailand’s profile in global professional golf.
How has social media changed golf?
Digital media has expanded the image of golf beyond professional tournaments. Audiences now discover the sport through course vlogs, challenges, instruction, travel, equipment content and everyday golfers.
What does golf’s growth mean for Thailand golf tourism?
A larger global golfer population and easier digital discovery create more potential demand for international golf travel. Thailand benefits from a large course network, multiple distinct golf destinations and an established specialist golf-travel industry.
From the Global Golf Boom to Golf in Thailand
The modern golf boom is global. The United States shows the strength of traditional and off-course participation, Britain and Europe retain deep golf cultures while building large junior audiences, Australia is attracting new and younger players, and Asia has become central to the participation story.
Thailand belongs firmly within that picture. Its internationally successful golfers, developing grassroots programmes, large golf-course network and established golf-travel sector connect domestic golf with players from around the world.
For Fairways of Eden, the next step is practical: helping those golfers turn interest in Thailand into the courses and destinations they actually want to experience.
Explore our Thailand golf destinations, compare more than 70 golf courses in Thailand, or build your own Thailand golf holiday.
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