CLUB-BASED GOLF ON THE RISE IN AUSTRALIA
The Australian Sports Commission ’ s ( ASC ) first AusPlay survey has revealed golf to have more club-based players than most other sports , ranking second in most popular sport played in a club by adults and children .
Golf is the number one most popular sports just for adults .
The survey stated that more than 685,000 Australians played club-based golf in 2016 ( upto September ), second only to football ( 1.086 million ).
AusPlay is a key pillar of the ASC ’ s game plan to get more Australians participating in organised sport more often and fills a major gap in national sport and physical recreation data after the Australian Bureau of Statistics ’ decision in 2014 to cease funding for all sport and recreation data collection . It will become the single source of data for government and the sport sector that not only tracks Australian sport participation behaviours , but also informs investment , policy and sport delivery and helps identify strategies to grow participation .
“ Golf around the country is going from strength to strength and it ’ s nice to see the numbers validated by AusPlay ,” said Golf Australia Chief Executive Stephen Pitt .
“ Golf clubs and facilities have come a long way in recent times in becoming destinations that encompass competition , fitness and fun for the whole family .
“ We are thrilled to have that officially recognised and to put us above a lot of sports that Australians hold so dearly says a lot about the appeal of golf as a game for life .”
This year , the ASC will release six-monthly updates of AusPlay trends and plans to use survey data to work with national sporting organisations and state departments of sport and recreation and help shape the ASC ’ s annual participation investment model .
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