Golf participation soars, but can NZ sustain the boom?

By Will Toogood

An influx of Kiwis taking up golf during Covid-19 lockdowns has continued, with record numbers of all ages and abilities registered as being involved - but there are concerns New Zealand’s facilities may not be enough to sustain the boom.

Adapting to the social distancing requirements by reducing playing groups and removing flags to minimise contact, golf courses were able to remain open and tens of thousands of new participants took to the sport.

Governing body Golf New Zealand’s (GNZ) participation strategy post-Covid aimed to build on this growth, centring around initiatives appealing to children, teenagers, novice players and women - and it has certainly paid off in the increased numbers of registered players.

New Zealand’s top men’s golfer, Ryan Fox, says he has seen first-hand how the sport not only survived, but thrived through the lockdowns and that those numbers have continued to soar.

“I think one of the things that’s come around in the last couple of years that’s really helped golf, ironically, was Covid. Golf was seen as one of those games that was really safe to play. With everything going on you could socially distance and I think that coming out of Covid, golf had a massive resurgence... while there wasn’t a whole lot of good things that came out of Covid, we’ve definitely had some benefits out of it.”

The country has the second-highest number of courses in the world, per capita, behind Scotland (where the game began) and golf is now the number one participation sport in the country. The year-on-year growth is only a good thing for the future of the sport, but New Zealand has lost a number of public courses that cater to the general public and there are fears newcomers to the sport may be priced out of participation.

Freshly-released figures show that casual player numbers in February 2024 - that is, people who have paid for a round of golf on a course but who are not members of any particular club - now sit at 203,460 registrations - up 21,894 per cent from April 2023.

Golf club memberships nationally are now sitting at 142,880 registrations - up from 136,571 in February 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.62 per cent.

GNZ CEO Jeff Latch tells the Herald that these numbers countered the sentiment that golf would drop off in participation as other sports resumed play.

“There was much discussion post-Covid that golf would start to truck down. We had this big influx because people couldn’t play other sports and golf was one of the few that you could - and we’ve actually seen the reverse of that,” Latch says.

“We don’t see it as competing head to head with those other sports because golf is a sport that many many people play as well as other sports. Because of its longevity, it’s pretty unique like that. Most sports, there’s a finite window you can actually play them - that’s not the case with golf.”

Of particular significance is the continued increase in women and girls’ participation in the sport. Women played 934,863 rounds of golf in the 12-month period to February this year - thanks largely in part to initiatives by GNZ appealing to the demographic.

Latch says that while GNZ’s programmes have sparked the push for more women and girls in golf, it has been other organisations within the sport that have taken up the initiative.

“Yes these programmes have been a huge driver, but the other driver has been the hard work of districts and golf clubs across New Zealand.”

Andrew Jackson, general manager at the Muriwai Golf Club, says they had seen a surge even before Covid and it is these new players who may miss out as the appetite for resort-style courses aimed at international players increases.

“We need more. We’ve lost some really good courses in Auckland and they’ve been replaced with resort courses, there’s nothing wrong with resort courses... they’re really good, there’s a resort course going up near us which is going to be really good. But we don’t have enough courses for your general public,” Jackson says.

“We’ve lost Gulf Harbour, which is an absolute tragedy that that’s gone. We’ve lost others to housing developments or whatever, so we could do with some more.”

Mirroring the increase in club memberships were registrations of GNZ’s virtual online Flexiclub, which has grown by 17.52 per cent in 10-months, to sit at 5,231 members in February 2024.

Latch says this initiative was started as a way to address the waitlists for club membership that are often a roadblock to full member participation for casual or beginner golfers - with 32 per cent of Flexiclub members progressing on to sign up to membership at a local club.

“What we wanted to do, and we worked with the districts and the clubs in doing so, we realised there was a requirement to come up with a way for golfers to get a handicap and start playing on golf courses,” he says.

“We needed to come up with something that made it easy and cost-effective for people to get a handicap and be able to start to play with affiliated golf clubs.

“It’s a really important gateway for people to come into golf and to transition from being a casual player to being a club member.”

Flexiclub membership costs $45 per month or $150 for the year and provides a pathway from beginner or casual golfers to get a handicap and transition into becoming a full club member, at a fraction of the cost of a lot of other memberships.

Chamberlain Park, one of only two public golf courses in Auckland, holds 76,000 rounds per annum and is likely the busiest golf course in the country. January and February both saw 28-year records in the number of rounds played - indicative of the need for facilities to cater for golfers of all abilities.

Geoff Senescall, chair of Save Chamberlain Park, was a strong advocate against reducing the number of holes to 15 on the course due to its proximity to a motorway.

He says the decision made by the council for the course to be redesigned and remain 18 holes and subsequent record patronage numbers was vindication for maintaining a course that is both accessible and has the right price point for casual players.

“It’s a legitimate sport for all... it’s a place [Chamberlain Park] where people of all ages and skills can play. A lot of older people play golf there, because they’ve got time. It’s a game they can play and enjoy into their 70s, 80s and 90s.”

Courses like Chamberlain Park allow for beginner and casual players to get a round in on weekends and other peak times when they may not have the opportunity at other courses - something Senescall says is why New Zealand needs more facilities like it.

“Because there’s been such a pick-up in golf, it just makes it very difficult for young people or people wanting to get a start... you can just rock up to Chamberlain, I don’t know as much about Takapuna [Auckland’s second public course] but I think you can rock up there and get yourself a game,” Senescall says.

Michael Annandale, the men’s golf club president at Chamberlain, echoed these thoughts and said that the course plays an essential role in maintaining accessibility for all.

“Chamberlain Park is one of two public golf courses servicing the entire Auckland region. It plays an essential role in providing access to the sport of golf due to its open-door policy and low fees. There has been a resurgence in player participation with a number of Auckland clubs no longer open for new members,” Annandale says.

The future of any sport is in novices, children, teens and women - and golf is no different. A number of new initiatives aimed at these key demographics have been used to build on the Covid boom and set further records in participation.

She Loves Golf, aimed at women and girls, Make Time Play 9, for nine-hole golfers, Futures for juniors and All Abilities, catering for players with disabilities, have all helped to grow the sport in these demographics.

Where the future of golf in New Zealand will be decided is the availability of facilities to cater for this influx of new players.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission