Golf Datatech (GDT) reported that U.S. golf rounds played were up 0.1 percent year-over-year for August 2023 and increased 4.1 percent year-to-date (YTD), according to the research firm’s latest National Rounds Played Report for August 2023.
The trend line GDT found in rounds played is much weaker than in its July report, which showed an increase of 3.2 percent in July and YTD growth of 5.0 percent for the first seven months of 2023. GDT said five out of eight regions saw improvements over 2022 rounds for August.
The Mid-Atlantic states, which includes New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the GDT data, posted the highest growth percentage for August, increasing 5.1 percent, while the Pacific states region had the largest decline, down 2.5 percent for the month, led by California and Oregon.
Rounds played at public access golf courses were up 0.4 percent for August, while private courses were down 1.4 percent. On a YTD basis, public courses performed better for the month than private, or up 4.6 percent versus 2.2 percent, respectively.
“August rounds played managed to squeak out the smallest possible increase, +0.1 percent, even though the weather turned against many parts of the country with weather disturbances ranging from hurricanes to extreme heat to floods. On a YTD basis, rounds remained up a healthy 4.1 percent, said GDT Co-Founder John Krzynowek.”
