SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – The 2020 golf season saw a record number of players, not just in Central New York, but also nationwide. Golf gave the opportunity for people to get outside in a safe environment last year, during a time where options of things to do were limited due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Although restrictions regarding the pandemic are beginning to ease up around the country compared to last year, the belief around the golf industry is that the success from last season drew a lot of new interest in the game that is expected to be maintained.
According to the National Golf Foundation, which tracks the number of rounds played across the United States each year, 502 million rounds of golf were played in the United States last season. This was a 14% increase from the 2019 season.
Steve Aloi, head golf professional at Bellevue Country Club, attributed people being at home more during the pandemic for the number of rounds being up, but also believed people discovered how much they enjoyed the game again.
“You know, people came back to golf,” Aloi said. “There’s a lot of people that tried golf that got away from golf, but this gave them an opportunity cause they had nothing going on at home to come out and play golf again. They realized that it is enjoyable and they came back.”
While many golfers just had more time on their hands due to the pandemic and were able to get out and play more consistently, the game also saw a growth in the number of new players. The National Golf Foundation also reported a record 3 million people played golf for the first time in 2020.
The popularity surge was not just seen among adults though. Junior golf programs around the country thrived last season. With many of the junior players not able to play their typical team sports that were mostly cancelled last season, golf gave a lot of junior players the opportunity to still get outside and participate in a sport last year.
Aloi believes a lot of these players will return to their former sports, but that this gave them an opportunity to see what golf was all about.
“I’m sure a lot of them that are mainstays in other sports that played baseball quite a bit, basketball, whatever, I’m sure that they’re going to go back, but at least this has given them a taste of what golf is all about,” Aloi said.
With the weather warming up and the golf season just around the corner, Aloi and others around the golf industry believe that while the 2020 numbers will not be replicated again, that the popularity of golf will remain now that more people have been exposed to the game.
“The stigma of just being a high end sport, those for the well off, has kind of diminished a little bit,” Aloi said. “We’re looking forward to the families coming out.”
