The number of golf course visitors in South Korea has declined for the third consecutive year.
According to the Korea Golf Course Management Association on the 18th, approximately 46.41 million golfers used 524 golf courses nationwide from January 1 to December 31 last year, a decrease of about 1 million from the previous year.
Domestic golf course visitors peaked at 50.58 million in 2022 due to COVID-19's influence, then began declining. The figure dropped to 47.72 million in 2023, fell to 47.41 million in 2024, and decreased significantly last year.
Last year, 14.57 million visitors used 152 membership golf courses, while 31.84 million visited 372 non-membership courses. The average number of visitors per hole was 4,430, down 127 from the previous year's 4,557. By golf course type, membership courses averaged 4,199 visitors per hole while non-membership courses averaged 4,544, indicating relatively higher usage density at non-membership facilities. When converted to 18-hole equivalents, membership courses averaged 75,582 visitors per location while non-membership courses recorded 81,792. Non-membership courses demonstrated higher operational efficiency than membership courses.
By region, Jeju golf courses suffered the greatest impact. Visitors to Jeju golf courses totaled 2.05 million last year, down approximately 8.0% from 2024's 2.22 million. Chungbuk courses declined 7.5%, Jeonbuk courses dropped 4.7%, and Gyeonggi courses fell 3.6%. Conversely, Gyeongnam golf courses attracted 6.33 million visitors last year, up 5.3% from 2024's 6.01 million, while Chungnam course visitors also increased 3.0%.
"Golf course visitor numbers showed growth after the COVID-19 pandemic spread but have since turned downward," said Yoon Hee-jong, head of the association's public relations team. "However, the figure still maintains a high level of over 46 million."