National golf rounds played increased 5.3 in May compared to May 2017, according to the latest report from Golf Datatech. Year to date, national golf rounds played are down 4.1 percent.

Regions where temperatures increased 1 degree saw a 0.8 percent increase in rounds played in May, while regions where rain increased one inch saw a 2.2 decrease in rounds played in the month.

“Rounds played, particularly in the early part of the year, are all about the weather,” Tom Stine, partner, Golf Datatech, told SGB. “If the weather is nice, golfers play golf. If it’s rainy or cold they don’t. Why would they? The good news about this is that the weather is always changing. The bad news is that you can’t do anything about it.”

Public courses saw a 5.8 percent increase in rounds played in May (-4.1 percent YTD), while private courses increased just 3.6 percent in the month (-4.4 percent YTD).

Here are the percentage changes by region for the U.S.:

  • New England: +17.7 percent
  • East North Central: +10.6 percent
  • Mountain: +8.7 percent
  • Mid Atlantic: +8.2 percent
  • South Atlantic: -6.3 percent
  • Pacific: +5.1 percent
  • South Central: +3.8 percent
  • West North Central: +8 percent