"More Americans Giving Up Golf"

That's the headline on an interesting article in the New York Times that details a drop-off in the number of Americans playing golf, and tries to tease out some of the reasons such a drop-off is occurring.

Perhaps this isn't so surprising. The golf industry was flying high 10 years ago, with booms in participation, spending and golf course construction. But golf course construction stalled several years ago, and now partipation appears to be dropping off.

The reasons may not be very complicated: Golf is an expensive hobby, and a round of golf takes about four or four-and-a-half hours to play, on average, in the U.S. When time and money are tight - as they increasingly are for more and more Americans - spending money on golf, and spending a half-dozen hours getting to, through and from a round of golf, are likely to be increasingly seen as luxuries.

Citing statistics from the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the Times reported:

• Since 2000, the number of Americans playing golf has dropped from 30 million to 26 million.
• Avid golfers - those playing 25 times a year or more - dropped by nearly a third, from 6.9 million to 4.6 million.
• Core golfers - those playing 8 times a year or more - fell from 17.7 million to 15 million.

Read the article