A record number of college-age players are hitting the greens and taking an interest in golf.
Golf experienced a 12% year-over-year increase in players and fans from 2021-2022, according to the National Golf Foundation.
Students said seeing golf on social media has made them want to try the sport.
“I saw a bunch of it on social media and I was like, you know, this looks really fun,” new golfer Eli Anastasis, a first-year business student, said. “It could be really cool to just to be good at it.”
Adults age 18-34 years old have become the top demographic in golf, with 6.2 million on-course participants and 5.8 million off-course-only participants, according to the National Golf Foundation. Off-course participants play golf on simulators or at the driving range but not on 18-hole or 9-hole courses.
“I work at Renditions Golf Course [in Davidsonville] so I actually could see how many people come into play,” Ian Fitzgerald, a second-year information assurance and cybersecurity networking student who plays for the AACC golf team, said. “I noticed, you know, younger people around my age, the game of golf is appealing to them.”
AACC golf head coach Dave O’Donnell said advances in technology around clubs and balls have made the sport more accessible to new golfers.
“I think one of the biggest changes has been, you know, the equipment has improved so drastically in the last decade,” O’Donnell said. “Especially in the last couple of years, that it’s allowing people to have more success.”
Being able to socialize and spend time with friends is another reason golfers said the sport is attracting new players.
“I’ve noticed as you get older, probably late high school, college, a lot more people in that area are starting to golf,” Ethan Baron, a first-year education student who plays for the AACC golf team, said. “It’s definitely the social aspect of it, that’s the big contributor. Going out with your friends, playing golf. I mean, there’s nothing better than that.”
The experienced golfers said new players should learn course etiquette and keep a proper pace of play.
“In terms of being a good steward of the game, number one, fix your divots, repair your ball marks, take care of the course,” O’Donnell said. “Rake the bunkers. … It’s important to do that.”
“When someone’s swinging, be quiet, stuff like that,” Baron said. “Most of the time the people will tell you at the course like, ‘Hey, just watch this,’ and there’s really no harm in that.”
The golfers also said they are excited to see the sport grow and welcome new participants to the course.
“I think it’s a great thing that golf is growing,” O’Donnell said. “For so many years golf was declining as a sport and there was a lot of worry about the future of the game. … This influx of golfers in the post-COVID era has been, you know, really a benefit to the golf industry as a whole.”
“I love it. I mean, it expands the game,” Baron said. “It brings new people into it that may have never been on the course before. I love playing with people that when they come up to me and we’re on the first tee and they’re like, ‘Just so you know, I’m not that good.’ We’re all just out there to have fun and that’s all that matters.”