- Number of golfers* in the U.S. – 29 million
- Golfers as a percentage of U.S. population – 9.6%
- Male-to-female golfer ratio – 77.5% to 22.5%
- Right-to-left handed golfer ratio – 87% to 13%
- Average age – 46
- Golfers who are married – 68%
- Attended and/or graduated college – 67%
- Hold “white-collar” jobs – 50%
- Average household income — $95,000
- Own securities – 83%
- Own a home – 68%
- Own more than one home – 18%
- Spent at least $30,000 on their most recent vehicle – 56%
- Spent at least $40,000 on their most recent vehicle – 28%
- Own or lease at least three vehicles – 32%
- Plan to buy or lease a new vehicle in the next year – 47%
- Flew domestically or took a business trip in the past 12 months – 80%
- Plan to vacation at least once in the coming year – 84% (80% of whom plan to play golf during vacation)
- Make vacation plans around golf – 40%
- Logged seven or more hotel nights during a golf-centered vacation in the past year – 44%
Ask a random stranger to describe the typical golfer, and they’ll probably say he’s an affluent, middle-aged male with a college education and an office job. Our random stranger would be right on the money.
While golf may not be the hoity-toity, elitist sport of caricature, demographic statistics show the average player to be reasonably well off. These facts and figures were compiled from sources including the
National Golf Foundation and the 2010 United States Census:
And now for the financial profile:
What do golfers spend their money on, besides golf? Cars, for one thing – and not cheap ones:
Golfers are dedicated travelers, too, as these stats show:
These are average figures, of course, and don’t apply specifically to any single golfer. But based on statistics, at least, real-life golfers hew relatively close to the stereotype.
