The upswing in golf's popularity since the pandemic is well documented, but the profile of players is evolving as well, with more women, youth and first-time golfers hitting the links than ever.
The upswing in golf's popularity since the pandemic is well documented, but the profile of players is evolving as well, with more women, youth and first-time golfers hitting the links than ever.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, golf was one of the options for outdoor recreation, leading many people to pick up the sport. That growth has continued since then, largely fueled by an increase in golf simulators, the rise of golf social media influencers, and Minnesota's low barrier of access to the sport.
Nationwide data from the National Golf Foundation found the number of first-time golfers was up 32% in 2024 compared with 2019. It also showed that not only are more people playing, but the sport is becoming more diverse and younger.
Across the country, among those who played golf in 2024, 28% were female, up from 23% in 2019, and 25% were Black, Asian or Hispanic, up from around 20% in 2019. Both 2024 figures represent the highest proportions ever recorded for either category. Additionally, the number of golfers aged 6 to 17 has grown 48% since 2019.
Jon Mays, executive director of the Minnesota Golf Association, said he is seeing the same trends in Minnesota.
While the association does not collect demographic data on a local level, Mays said statewide trends typically follow national patterns. Its most recent yearly report on the number of rounds played shows golf's increased popularity. In 2024, MGA reported an average of 27,598 rounds played, up from 26,127 in 2023, and around 20,000 in 2019 — marking the fifth increase in the past six golf seasons.
Also, the Minnesota Golf Association topped 100,000 members for the first time ever in 2024, with around 20,000 of those being youth golf members.
Mays largely attributes the increase in golfers to the rise of golf-focused social media influencers and golf simulators like Topgolf.
“The intimidation factor of stepping up and hitting a ball into a simulator is a lot less than stepping onto the first tee at a green grass facility,” he said. “We see a lot of new golfers go that route to kind of start their golfer journey at a simulator facility and then transition to a green grass facility.”
Golf in Minnesota
The average rounds of golf played at facilities across the state from 2019 to 2024
Source: Minnesota Golf Association
Growing diversity in golf
Not only are more people playing golf in 2024 than 2019, but golfers are also becoming more diverse.
Source: National Golf Foundation
Nationally, the number of people who didn't play on-course golf in the past year but indicate that they are "very interested" in doing so this year is up 8% from 2023 and up 55% from 2019, according to the National Golf Foundation.
YouTube also has reshaped the golf media landscape, with content creators offering ways to watch golf beyond traditional tournaments. For example, the Good Good Golf YouTube channel has 1.75 million subscribers, compared to the PGA Tour’s 1.56 million.
“A lot of these YouTube golfers and other social media stars are making golf really popular on social media, so we're seeing a lot of the younger generation get into the game that way,” Mays said.
Lastly, Minnesota might be the most accessible golf state in the country. According to the National Golf Foundation, 90% of the state’s courses are open to the public — only Alaska, Maine, North Dakota and South Dakota have a greater share of public courses, but Minnesota has more courses than all of them combined. Also, about 91% of Minnesota’s public courses charge less than $80 for a round with a cart, compared to the national average of 74%.
That accessibility has played a role in attracting new golfers, Mays said.
“The fact that all of these new golfers can essentially find a course that fits their needs … points to the rise in popularity and why people are finding a home and really stick with the game,” he said.
The Business Journal talked with three new golfers, including two who developed a love for the game after playing a simulator, and one junior whose passion for the game has been enhanced by social media.
Like many golfers, Krissy Ott, 39, dabbled with golf as a kid, playing periodically with her dad or at a small local course, but it wasn't until after the pandemic that she fully caught the bug.
“I went to a Topgolf outing at work and just completely fell in love with it,” she said. “I really wanted to get back into a sport, and my husband golfsa lot, so I thought, 'What a great opportunity for us to have a hobby together and something we can share with our kids.' ”
After that pivotal Topgolf outing in 2021, Ott said she became obsessed.
“I golfed once or twice in 2021, and then once the weather turned nice in 2022, I went all in. Any free time I had, I was at the driving range,” she said.
Last season, she got her first hole-in-one, highlighting her journey of improvement.
“When I played that first time in 2021, I couldn’t even hit the ball off the tee,” she said. “But we all start somewhere, and I just didn’t give up. I think a lot of people would have been really embarrassed or not willing to get back on that course. But I knew that I was going to fall in love with this game if I could just get the basics down.”
So, she started taking lessons and also started looking online for other women who golf, eventually finding what is now called the Northern Greens Golf Collective, which hosts women's golf outings and other events.
“What's been great about that is I've met other women that are close to me geographically, so we can spontaneously meet up and play nine holes,” she said.
After 15 years abroad, Nicholas Thorngren returned to Minnesota last year and was looking for work. That search led him to meet the owner of Sota Sims Golf in Shorewood, who had noticed the rise in popularity of golf on social media and wanted to capitalize on it.
Despite not being a golfer, Thorngren, 42, was hired to make social media content for the company. Through that process, he fell in love with the game.
“I was shooting videos of these guys golfing, and then I would hit after we'd film the content, then they'd let me play practice holes,” he said. “I just enjoyed being out on the course and being around a group of guys that were not taking the game too seriously, which helped because I was always a little intimidated by the game.”
Without starting at the simulator, Thorngren doesn't know if he would have picked up the sport.
"Going to a course is very intimidating. You're paying the money, and worrying about slowing people down,” he said. “But the simulator is a good, safe place for a new golfer to go and take some cuts and not injure anybody.”
Thorngren is now the digital media manager for the Minnesota Golf Association and plans to document his own golf journey on social media under the username newgolferguy.
“I haven't done much with it, but I'm leaning into that from this season with the MGA, showing the journey for new golfers, getting into golf in general, but also how the MGA can help new golfers,” he said.
About two years ago, Adam Rothstein’s dad signed him up for a golf league at Emerald Green Golf Course in Inver Grove Heights. At the time, he wasn’t too serious about it.
“I wasn't that good at that time, but it was fun just to hang out with people and just play for fun,” he said.
The following summer, Rothstein, now 13, got signed up for Youth on Course, a program offered through the MGA that allows members to play golf for $5 or less at participating courses, enabling him to play more and grow his passion for the game.
“We played quite a lot more than the previous year, and I just started to love the game,” he said. “Then [in 2024], I started improving a lot more and taking it more seriously.”
This season, he is trying out for his high school team and will be playing in theYouth on Course program and an additional golf league.
Pat Rothstein, Adam’s dad, said Youth on Course was helpful in getting Adam more involved with the game, since without the program's discount, course fees can be around $75.
Adam is also a big fan of the YouTube channel Good Good Golf, which he said has gotten him more into the game.
“It draws me into the sport more. It's just fun to see how they change the game in a certain way. They make it really fun,” he said.
Toughest Golf Courses in Minnesota
USGA men's slope rating
Rank | Prior Rank | Name |
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1 | 2 | Spring Hill Golf Club |
2 | 4 | Hazeltine National Golf Club |
3 | 6 | TPC Twin Cities |
View this list