Golf participation in Australia continues its unprecedented rise, surpassing four million adult players in 2024/25 — the highest total ever recorded.
The findings, released in the 2024/25 Golf Participation Report, reveal that one in every five adult Australians played golf in some format in the 2024-25 financial year – an overall increase of 5.2% in 12 months.
While traditional club membership continues to rise, reaching 477,220 members nationwide, that figure is dwarfed by participation in new and emerging golfing audiences.
Off-course golf participation rates are also booming, with 1.6m Australians hitting balls at driving ranges, indoor simulators and golf entertainment venues. Meanwhile, 1.8m Aussies regularly play on-course golf but are not members of a club.
Other key findings of the report include:
- Of the 1.6m Australians exclusively playing off-course golf, 50% are women
- The average age of off-course only golfers is 38 compared to 43 for on-course only golfers
- 477,220 golf club members nationwide — marking the fifth consecutive year of growth
- Club membership is up 24.1% since 2017/18 — the strongest sustained growth in more than 30 years
- 41.6% of all new club members were under 35
- Regional club membership increased 3% to 259,333
- Approximately 25% of participants were born outside of Australia
- Junior club membership is up 17.9%, driven by national participation programs MyGolf and TeeMates
- Social club memberships grew 14.8% — more than four times the growth rate of traditional club memberships
The picture in WA
Mirroring the rest of the nation, participation rates in WA increased in the 2024/25 financial year.
Club membership levels rose 3.3% overall to 39,748, while WA also boasts the highest ratio of women golf club members of any state or territory at 19.7% – the national average being 17.7%.
In terms of introducing newcomers to the game, WA moved the dial considerably during the counting period of the research.
The number of juniors enrolling in MyGolf programs jumped 34% to 3,022 participants, while 1,228 adults signed up to a Get Into Golf program — of which 83.8% were women.
Participants at a women’s golf clinic during the 2025 WA Open in October
GolfWA Chief Executive Gary Thomas said the participation report reflects a sport in positive transformation, driven by new audiences, new formats and increased accessibility.
“It is heartening to see the continued growth of golf, both nationally and here in Western Australia,” he said.
“With average ages of participants dropping and the number of women increasing, it has never been more apparent that golf truly is a sport for all.
“More than that, though, the sport is evolving as more Australians find a version of the game that suits their lifestyle.”
Download the full report here.
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