We’ve picked through the bewildering array of statistics to pick out five key learnings from the numbers.
The World Handicap System Data Report, produced earlier this year by The R&A and USGA, provides a fascinating look at the way millions of golfers interacted with the game in 2025.
It was put together following submissions of scoring data from 57 national associations, which captured more than 150 million rounds played by over 6.5 million golfers.
Among some of the key findings were:
- Average male handicap: 16.9
- Average female handicap: 29.0
- 72.8% of submitted rounds were general play
- 83.4% were 18-hole rounds
- The Playing Conditions Calculation was applied to 8.9% of scores
- 96.9% of players produced no exceptional scores
You can devour the data in much more detail by clicking on the report. But is there more you can take from it? Can it help you frame your offering to members and visitors?
We’ve picked out five interesting trends from the numbers that may be of interest to golf club managers and industry figures in Great Britain & Ireland…
Golfers play many more general play rounds than you might think
The data obviously leans strongly on scores submitted from the United States, which contributed more than 80 million of the 150 million total.
Even so, the numbers were eye-opening: 72.8% of submitted rounds were general play scores compared with 27.2% from competition rounds.
In raw terms, that was 106.6 million rounds versus 39.9 million. The figures in Europe, including Great Britain & Ireland, weren’t quite so extreme. Among male golfers, 51.8% of 18-hole handicap-counting rounds were general play against 48.2% in competitions.
For female golfers, 55% of rounds were submitted in competitions and 45% were general play.
But with club golf, particularly in private members’ clubs, centred around competition play, the data suggests the landscape could be changing.
Does that mean the traditional structure should be ripped up? There should always be a place in the calendar for the traditional medals, Opens, and trophy events.
What the numbers might show, though, is that general play scores should not simply be discarded as ‘casual golf’. It feels like it is becoming more of a core product.
The 9-hole market is growing
The overwhelming majority of golfers value the 18-hole format (83.4% of rounds), but what was interesting in the data was the number of 9-hole rounds being submitted by female golfers.
More than a quarter of rounds (27%) played by women and girls were over the shorter format, compared with just 15% for male players.
Clubs are concentrating more on 9-hole golf as a value proposition, with midweek leagues and 9-hole competitions appearing more in the calendar.
Is there potential to expand this further? Are 9-hole memberships an option? Does your club offer a beginner to 9-hole progression programme?
Golf is hard – so don’t leave your players behind
There is a lot of noise around handicap limits in competitions, with some commenters on social media calling for restrictions – setting 18 or 24 as a maximum – to ward off criticisms of high winning scores in events and fears of manipulation.
But the average handicap for male players across the globe is 16.9, and 29.0 for female players. 42.3% of male players have a handicap between 10.1 and 20.
This realisation shouldn’t deter committees from setting strict Terms of Competition, but while we might all love the game, it shows we’re also pretty run of the mill when it comes to ability.
That can also shape course set-up – avoiding the urge to grow penal rough or setting too many difficult pin positions if your course has pace-of-play problems.
Is handicap manipulation as bad as some fear?
Score differentials in both general play and competition rounds were very consistent. For example, male golfers with handicaps between 10.1 and 20.0 averaged a differential of 18.3 in competitions and 18.5 in general play.
Of course, many of us will be able to point to examples of golfers taking liberties with the Rules of Handicapping, but with fear of sandbagging dominating discussion of the WHS in GB&I, does the data support that theory?
The WHS data can tell you how your members and visitors play golf
Using these overall numbers as a guide, can you drill deeper into your own club figures? Are there players who only put in general play rounds? Are there members who have moved from 18-hole to 9-hole rounds? Who has stopped putting scores into the system?
How many rounds do your members play? Who isn’t playing – and are they at risk of leaving the club? These are all valuable numbers that can help you plan tee sheet utilisation and how you can keep members happy.
