The Decline of Golf in the UK

Sad though it may be to admit it, the simple fact is that the number of people playing golf regularly in the UK has declined considerably in the last few years. England Golf, the governing body for the sport in the country, says that in 2006 – which was the highest point reached – more than four million people in Britain played golf. Ten years later, that figure had fallen to 2,785,000. Over the same period golf club membership fell from 850,000 to 652,000.

A Director of England Golf, Richard Flint, said last year that there are three main problems, and these are time, money, and perception. A round of golf takes a long time - especially if you walk. It costs a lot of money in terms of club memberships, equipment, and lessons if you are a beginner. And it appears to many, to be a game for men, in their senior years, certainly middle age+, who are rich and still wear Argyle sweaters.

That latter point is certainly true in terms of how many women play golf in the UK. Just 14% of golfers in Britain are women. This has been a talking point in golf for some years and can partly be put down to the fact that golf is seen as a "Old boys club". In fact, until a few years ago one club in Scotland actually had a sign on the door saying "No dogs. No women". One member quipped that it was a pity about the dogs? The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews only voted to admit women in September 2014. Which kind of sums up where golf is right now!

The time factor is a big issue also. In a survey carried out last year 63% of all respondents said that they play golf more than once a week. That would point to it being a sport for wealthy people with time on their hands who can afford to spend 4-5 hours or so on a round of 18 holes at least twice a week. Then of course there is the cost factor. Regular players won’t need to spend money on lessons, but golf club membership fees can range from just about affordable to astronomical. The average golf club membership is around £800-900 a year with many costing considerably more than that. In the US the average golf club membership is much higher – and average green fees are $70-80 so if you play once a week that’s £3,000 a year without any of the benefits of membership.

It is not just in the UK that golf has declined. The same is happening in the USA. The economic disaster of 2008 started the slide and many municipal courses have closed because governments have cut spending on education and social services and cannot justify spending on golf. However, high end golf courses have been doing quite well according to Donald Trump. He should know – he owns 18 of them.

Another thing today is the fact that it is no longer so acceptable for the father to disappear off to the golf club at the weekends leaving mum to stay at home and look after the kids. Some men have tried to get around this by interesting the children in golf and taking them with them to earn some brownie points, but the problem is that a lot of courses are not child friendly. Another contributing factor could be the high rate of divorce, because weekends are when men get to see their children.

Finally, while other sports have modernised, Golf is still stuck in the 1970’s. Misogynist and Sexist attitudes make it difficult to attract young people and women into the sport as they often feel intimidated by golf clubs.

In addition, Dress codes just put younger players off. Arguing about the length of someone’s socks isn’t going to attract a youthful audience. Let them wear hoodies if they want!

One thing that may help to revitalise the game is the rise of the online golf club. This makes it much easier for golfers to find games at local clubs and find partners for a round. Joining an online club can help you to make new friends and find tee times at clubs within a reasonable distance that suit your working lifestyle. If you can’t find a game in your area you may be able to post one to find other people who are interested. In fact, joining an online golf club can help you with many aspects of the game, although there is no substitute for getting out there on the fairway.

The Social Golfer is an online golf club which believes that you should be able to play golf anywhere in the world at any time, whether or not you are a club member.

The Social Golfer is an online golf community that helps to find new partners as well as societies. they also run different golf societiesand golf groups.