Number of golf courses in Europe 1985-2018
The rise in the number of golf courses in Europe was accompanied with a rise in golf popularity.
In the past 20 years, golf has been gaining popularity in Europe. In 1990, there were 1.71 million registered golfers in Europe, whereas in 2017, there were approximately 4.14 million registered golfers. Golf participation peaked in 2010, when 4.44 people were registered.
Spain and Portugal are the most popular non-domestic golfing holiday destinations for golfers from Great Britain and Ireland.
Approximately one third of the golfers in Ireland and Great Britain, who play at least ten times a year, went on a golfing holiday in Spain in 2017. Second and third in popularity as non-domestic golfing destinations” were Portugal and Ireland.