Story byMike StachuraSun, January 25, 2026 at 2:25 AM UTC·12 min readIt was another year of crowded aisles and sustained enthusiasm for the golf industry at this week’s annual PGA Show in Orlando. The game’s business leaders and those hopeful to cash in on the golf’s consistently buzzy momentum gathered on the heels of the latest National Golf Foundation report that highlighted an unprecedented eighth straight year of growth in new golfers, along with another all-time high in rounds played. As NGF executive director Greg Nathan put it, “Today’s momentum is not a temporary post-pandemic spike, but rather a recalibrated baseline built on broader access, diversified entry points, and a more inclusive, multi-channel ecosystem.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe numbers indicate a distinct robustness to the game’s immediate future:• Total golfer participation (on- and off-course) reached a new high at 48.1 million, a 41-percent increase since 2019.• There were new highs for youth, seniors, women and people of color.• Rounds played reached nearly 550 million, the fourth time in the last five years that a new record was set, with 63 of the past 66 months outperforming their pre-pandemic equivalent in rounds played.• U. S. golf equipment wholesale sales were up 3 percent over last year and nearly 50 percent higher than in 2019. Of course, golf has seen boom times often in the past 40 years, so it is worth wondering where the game might go from here.
