Golf is When... 'Weekend Mornings, Together with Friends'

The weekend mornings are the busiest.

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This is for rounds with friends. According to the ‘2023 Korea Golf Index’ announced last month by the Korea Golf Association (KGA), the main activity time for golf course users was higher on weekends (51.9%) than on weekdays (48.1%). Among these, weekend mornings (29.4%) ranked first. This was followed by weekday mornings (21.8%), weekend afternoons (12.9%), and weekday afternoons (12.6%). Weekend mornings showed high rates for both men (30.2%) and women (27.7%). In the early weekend hours, men accounted for 10.5%, while women were at 3.7%, showing a significant difference. On weekday mornings, the 60s age group had the highest proportion at 31.5%.

The most common golf companions were friends at 48.5%. Colleagues (20.4%), family (17.1%), business associates (6.1%), clubs (5.9%), and solo players (1.9%) followed. The rate of coming with friends was higher among men (51.9%) than women (41.5%). Women were more likely to come with family at 36.3%, compared to men at 7.8%. By age group, those in their 30s responded that they came with colleagues (29.9%), followed by those in their 40s (26.9%) and 20s (25%).

The purposes of golf activities were diverse. Hobby activities ranked first at 73.3%. This was followed by socializing (67.7%), stress relief (52.3%), health (46%), maintaining and improving golf skills (43.1%), business needs (16.7%), and posting on social networking services (SNS) (4.8%).

Among the domestic population aged 20 and over, 6.24 million people were recorded as having participated in golf activities at least once. Golf activity participants accounted for 18.3%, while non-participants made up 64.8%. Among golf activity participants, the newly started golf population reached 436,715 (1.2%). The percentage of golf activity participants decreased from 18.1% in 2017 to 10.8% in 2021, then increased again to 18.3% in 2023.

The potential customer base for golf courses is expected to decline in the future. Among non-golfers, those willing to play golf decreased from 32.8% in 2021 to 27.1% in 2023. Conversely, non-potential non-golfers who have no intention to play golf increased by 12.8%, from 24.9% in 2021 to 37.7% in 2023.

The average monthly expenditure per person on golf in 2023 was 458,000 KRW for golf courses, 229,000 KRW for driving ranges, and 176,000 KRW for indoor screen golf. The annual average usage frequency by golf facility was 6.8 times for golf courses, 18.1 times for driving ranges, and 14.5 times for indoor screen golf. The countries visited for overseas golf trips were Thailand (42.1%), the Philippines (32.2%), Vietnam (28.0%), Japan (26.1%), and China (14.3%), in that order.

This survey was conducted on 10,000 adult men and women aged 20 to under 70 across 17 cities and provinces nationwide. It identified the number of domestic golf activity participants, types of activities, attitudes toward golf, and the degree of attachment to golf activities. The KGA planned this to use as basic data for analyzing the current status and prospects of Korean golf.

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