How often do golfers actually find the fairway? Which English county has the best drivers? Which boasts the most golfers? And what was the most popular day to play golf in 2024?
Bragging rights can finally be revealed as England Golf revealed what happened on courses in the country over the last 12 months.
The governing body, which has 1,815 affiliated clubs looking after 722,000 members, has given out a whole host of golf statistics and the headline is that more than 10 million scores were put in during 2024 – the highest number ever submitted in a calendar year.
A total of 10,213,894 were recorded – 811,712 more than in 2023 (an increase of 8.63 per cent). Of those, 754,009 were submitted by males and 57,703 by females.
There was a huge rise in the number of 9-hole rounds – up 17.89 per cent. 142,043 more 9-hole scores were recorded in 2024 than 2023.
There was also a big increase in the number of general play scores put in during 2024 too, with 539,428 more than the previous year – or a surge of 13.67 per cent.
Some 43 per cent of submitted scores now come from ‘social golf’ and 57 per cent from competition scores – a figure that suggests the World Handicap System is being embraced by more and more golfers in the country.
It could also show that a shift in culture, away from a golfing climate centred mainly around the main competition season from April to October, is starting to gather pace.
That said, there were still 272,284 more competition scores entered in 2024 – an increase of 4.99 per cent on 2023.
The most popular day to play golf in England in 2024 was Saturday, June 1, with 97,053 rounds submitted in ‘balmy’ 16-degree temperatures.
Richard Flint, England Golf chief commercial officer, said: “The huge increase in 9-hole scores submitted shows that there is an appetite for shorter forms of the game, especially in that it helps cater for some people’s lifestyles.
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“And with the enormous amount of general play scores being entered, it is demonstrating that people are getting to grips with the [MyEG] app and wanting to monitor their progress which is fantastic to see.”
Golf statistics: How do golfers stack up in England?
But let’s really get down to brass tacks on these golf statistics. How good is the average golfer in England? Players can track their stats using the MyEG app – entering fairways hit, approaches, and putts made – and a look through the numbers shows players find the short stuff by hitting the fairway 54 per cent of the time.
Driving accuracy on the PGA Tour is said to be around 60 per cent so weekend hackers aren’t doing too bad!
Yorkshire is the biggest county in England, so it’s probably not a big surprise to you that they make up the largest number of club members in the county. More than 9.5 per cent of English club members and iGolfers reside in ‘God’s own country’, with Lancashire (6.67 per cent) and Surrey (6.6 per cent) next on the podium.
Does that mean, though, they’re also the most accurate off the tee? It seems that weight of numbers doesn’t matter when it comes to fairway finders.
Golfers in Northumberland are the most precise, followed by players from Shropshire and Herefordshire and Derbyshire.
To finish up these intriguing golf statistics, England Golf revealed there are now 54,050 iGolf subscribers and, since the scheme was launched in July 2021, 13,320 have moved into golf club membership.
Now have your say
What do you think of England Golf’s stats? How do you measure up on the fairway front and what do you think about the increasing prevalence of general play scores? Let us know your golf statistics by leaving a comment on X.
