38,400 golf courses: What Current (2024–2025) Data Shows

🌍 What Current (2024–2025) Data Shows — Country‑by‑Country

Global Total
- One recent academic study (2024) estimates ~ 38,400 golf courses worldwide. s60a87c811f28061b.jimcontent.com+1
- According to that source, ~80% of all these courses are in the top 10 countries. s60a87c811f28061b.jimcontent.com
Top Countries (from various sources)
Based on recent aggregated data (Golf Monthly, Statista, etc.): CountryEstimated Number of Golf Courses (latest)United States~16,700 Golf Monthly+1Japan~3,140–3,170 Pitchmarks+2GolfLux+2United Kingdom (England + others)England ~2,270 Golf MonthlyCanada~2,630 golfplayed.comAustralia~1,600+ PitchmarksGermany~1,050 Golf MonthlyFrance~800+ GolfLuxSouth Korea~800+ (~810) Pitchmarks+1China~600+ golfplayed.comSweden~650+ Pitchmarks
Southeast Asia Example
- According to a 2024–2025 analysis: Thailand has ~306 courses; Malaysia ~252; Indonesia ~150 for some of the main SE Asian markets. asiagolfjourney.com
- In Vietnam, as of August 2025: ~69 courses. asiagolfjourney.com

Many numbers come from secondary sources (media, blogs) rather than a central, up-to-date R&A / NGF database.
Some data (like from R&A) is more about “golf facilities,” which might include driving ranges or partial courses. EIGCA
Open data (e.g. from OpenStreetMap) is used in some studies, but may undercount or overcount depending on mapping coverage. s60a87c811f28061b.jimcontent.com
The “number of 9 or 18 hole golf courses” in the R&A 2024 participation report is given for many countries, but not for all, and some smaller countries may be missing. assets.randa.org

Bottom line:

Yes, there is some recent (2024–2025) data, but it’s not fully comprehensive for every country.
For top golf nations (USA, Japan, UK, Canada, etc.), the data is relatively reliable and aligns with older data.
For smaller or rapidly growing golf markets (Southeast Asia, emerging countries), data is more patchy and often comes from regional industry reports.