Have Europeans overtaken Americans in passion for golf?

[Lamb]

NEVER! Honestly no one cares about golf in the UK. Its 10x worse in the rest of Europe!! America is the home and passion of golf! You guys don't even realise how lucky it is to be a golfer in USA. It is no coincidence the golfchannel only lasted a few years in the UK.

[2putttom]

Asian market is thriving.

[nichho]

NEVER! Honestly no one cares about golf in the UK. Its 10x worse in the rest of Europe!! America is the home and passion of golf! You guys don't even realise how lucky it is to be a golfer in USA. It is no coincidence the golfchannel only lasted a few years in the UK.

 

Thats it, the debate is over we have had the definitive answer.

 

Alternatively we could all open the link to the KPMG assessment that Bingo provided a come to a balanced conclusion.

[platgof]

Ask Rory about this as he just quit their tour!! I would say more golf tournament fans in the U.S. actually play the game versus Euro.

[Halebopp]

Ask Rory about this as he just quit their tour!! I would say more golf tournament fans in the U.S. actually play the game versus Euro.

Are you talking about absolute numbers or percentages? I agree with the former due to the sheer numbers of spectators in the U.S. but seriously doubt the latter.

 

Do you have a link to the news Rory quit ET? I tried to google it but came up with nothing outside of the false headlines from November.

[braincramp52]

I'm not quite sure how you measure passion.

[platgof]

Now if you asked who the more knowledgeable fans are, then Europe might take it.

[platgof]

Golf magazine mentioned the Asian market, as it is really growing, building a lot of golf courses.

[Bingo1976]

It really depends if you conflating passion with golf course construction.

 

Golf in Asia is booming, driven mostly by North Asian demand for resort/holiday courses. These are spill over from densely populated cities, and a growing affluent middle class who see golf as an elite sport which denotes social status. Golf courses near major conurbations are priced for the demand - the only public course I can play at a weekend in Hong Kong is about 150USD, and Singapore would cost about the same. To play privately would cost upwards of USD500 in Hong Kong. Most golfers cross the border to China and Malaysia/Indonesia respectively. Koreans and Japanese will fly in for long weekends, especially during the winter months. Vietnam is booming as a golf destination, with some good new courses opening up, and there continues to be building around Malaysia, and of course Thailand. Most of the kids I see playing here are middle class, with a heavy amount of parental support. A far cry from when I grew up and was dropped off at the club with a bag of mismatched second hand clubs I had saved up for (I had 2 7 irons at one point) and was left to wander about a half empty course during school holidays.

 

I still think that Europe and the US are far better for accessibility for working class golfers (to be honest, the concept does not exist in the parts of Asia that I have been to), although from what I read about public courses in the US, I think I would not bother playing. I would certainly argue anecdotally that Europeans are better students of the game and it's etiquette.

 

Of course, you are all free to read the KPMG articles, or contact them directly, as they do a lot of research into industry trends.

[Langlands]

NEVER! Honestly no one cares about golf in the UK. Its 10x worse in the rest of Europe!! America is the home and passion of golf! You guys don't even realise how lucky it is to be a golfer in USA. It is no coincidence the golfchannel only lasted a few years in the UK.

 

It's a miracle the Golf Channel lasted as long as it did in the UK, given that it never actually broadcast any golf (unless you count old re-runs of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf).

[Bingo1976]

NEVER! Honestly no one cares about golf in the UK. Its 10x worse in the rest of Europe!! America is the home and passion of golf! You guys don't even realise how lucky it is to be a golfer in USA. It is no coincidence the golfchannel only lasted a few years in the UK.

 

It's a miracle the Golf Channel lasted as long as it did in the UK, given that it never actually broadcast any golf (unless you count old re-runs of Shell's Wonderful World of Golf).

 

They also showed the Big Break, usually totally out of order.

 

Sky Golf coverage is far better than anything the Merkins can produce though, even when they are hobbled by taking a US feed.

[Joelsim]

If you look at the PGA Tour, much of it is wide fairways and point and shoot golf. In Europe there’s a much wider range of course types with links, parkland, heathland etc.

 

And to suggest that Scotland isn’t the most golf-mad country is wrong, even given the huge numbers in the Far East these days, it’s part of their culture.

[ChipNRun]

Asian market is thriving.

Golf magazine mentioned the Asian market, as it is really growing, building a lot of golf courses.

One of the fastest growing national scenes for Asian golf is South Korea. One note: More than half the SK golfer play simulator rather than outdoor golf. https://www.sportsbu...ology/Golf.aspx

 

Here in USA, the arrival of Topgolf and its competitors Game Golf and Drive Shack are disrupting the status quo. Topgolf combines golf with a night club and game atmosphere - your foursome can compete at night in Big Break type contests while sipping and snacking. Or, competition golfers can fine-tune their iron shots over lunch hour.

 

St. Louis got a Topgolf last summer year in Chesterfield (West County area).https://www.bizjourn...ld-topgolf.html. Of course, a latté-shop commando complained with a letter to the editor, because TG marred the pleasant landscape of the area.

 

For several years, a local off-course golf shop has been providing simulator golf course rounds and running simulator leagues at night. The owners have more prospective players than they can handle - especially during snowy weather. Other simulator sites have also popped up around the area.

 

And, kudos to Bingo1976 for timely play-by-play on the current Asian market.

[scruffynick]

NEVER! Honestly no one cares about golf in the UK. Its 10x worse in the rest of Europe!! America is the home and passion of golf! You guys don't even realise how lucky it is to be a golfer in USA. It is no coincidence the golfchannel only lasted a few years in the UK.

Oh dear.... Never been to the UK then??? Golf channel didn't last because the main focus sport for arm chair supporters is football.... But when the majors are on, its a different story.