But with demand continuing to surge, fuelled by a strong dollar and some extraordinary marketing of the business across North America, there is no end in sight for Ireland’s golfing boom.

At home participation numbers continue to grow, with membership registrations recorded by Golf Ireland increasing, while the retail sector has never known such demand, as a picture of an ongoing incline trends upwards.

As we await end-of-year results from across the sector, The Pitch – with the help of industry experts – has compiled an analysis of the industry using the three most vital indicators to track this growth.

For the golf business here to thrive, it depends on three key factors - Domestic Participation (Membership and Green Fees), Inbound Investment (Tourism) and Retail (Equipment and Accessories).

Using these values the picture revealed is even stronger than some of the more optimistic forecasts have predicted, and are a world away from the feared negative impacts of what a slowdown, after the initial rush, might look like.

Let’s look at some of the most relevant numbers to demonstrate how the game continues to defy expectation into 2024 and onwards towards another Open Championship in 2025 and Ryder Cup in 2027.

In the domestic market, Golf Ireland has revealed to us that the number of registered players has grown by 8% on last year, or 21% since 2018.

Fears that the growth of the game during the pandemic – where membership numbers increased by 12% – was temporary, have proven unfounded, with a high of 219,937 registered members now playing the sport.

We don’t know what this large segment’s investment in the game is, but if we roughly approximate that an average golf membership (juvenile and senior combined) works out at around €450 per player, you’re looking at revenue of €100m.

This doesn’t account for golf societies - which we previously assessed as being worth €60m - or individual green fees for clubs, nor the vast amount of casual players who are not affiliated to clubs but play regularly.

An even more significant number comes from the tourism sector, a segment valued at €300m in 2019, and may have been as much as €500m during the Celtic Tiger boom.

The Ireland Golf Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) will meet in October to review the year, but already the 23-agency operation is reporting a period of significant increased demand from inbound golfers.

What will be interesting to assess is the percentage breakdown of players which was last recorded in 2019 of 47%  North American, 30% European and 19% UK, with the remainder from Asia.

While not an exact science, the US and Canadian golf tourist will more generally want to play links golf, while the UK and Europeans will equally be drawn to the country’s top parkland golf courses – either way the numbers could well beat 2019’s 220,000.

The influx of visitors, particularly from the US, has led to an “exceptionally strong year” according to IGTOA Executive Director Barry Maye, who reports that 2024 is already looking like another busy period.

“We’re seeing that that pent-up demand to visit and play here was fully appreciated once the barriers were lifted after Covid, and that has not waned since then,” he explained.

“That demand is still exceptionally strong, particularly from North America where there is a huge desire to play the famous links and trophy courses.

“Our operators are reporting that (a lot of these courses) are pretty much booked out for next year.” 

With tee times filling up a year in advance, the challenge for operators has been to find alternatives in a country which has one per cent of the world’s golf courses and 30% of the planet’s links clubs.

An even more visible indicator of how the game continues to grow comes in the increasingly valuable retail sector, where demand for golfing goods is increasing to unprecedented levels.

McGuirk's Golf opens its 20th store this summer - in Letterkenny, Co Donegal – marking a healthy upturn in the market, not just for new clubs and equipment, but for clothing and accessories.

Regional Manager with the group, Dave Carr, explained that the sector has been “exceptional” this year – The Pitch assesses that golf retail is worth around €120m in turnover in the 26 counties alone.

“I’ve been in the business for 30 years – when we started off with just Howth - and the sector is performing very well,” he explains.

“The demand is high for clubs – and not just clubs but for fittings – nobody goes into a shop anymore and just buys a set and then leaves, they all want to be fitted.

“We’ve also noticed a huge increase in younger golfers coming in, and while the older market is still there and is extremely strong, the profile of the customer is changing.” 

Golf club sales only make up approximately 30% of the retail business in Ireland, with accessories, shoes and clothing holding the majority of the value.

And in a year of unprecedented growth across the entire sector, in retail the big seller was rain gear, where even the dark clouds can’t defy an industry which continues to explode.

Why TaylorMade beats the rest of the opposition

Irish golfers will spend up to €40m on equipment this year, with technology and brand fuelling even modest ambitions.

TaylorMade, Callaway, and Ping are the leaders of the pack, where there is little to separate performance from all the leading club manufacturers for the average golfer.

The magic potion in the equipment industry is all down to marketing, and king of clubs in this area is TaylorMade, which is by far the market leader, selling up to 30% more than Callaway and Ping equipment.

And the reason for that, according to McGuirks Golf’s Dave Carr, is down to visibility, not just by the Rory and Tiger factor, but by the sheer volume of star players using the brand each weekend.

“Marketing is massive with them, that and the amount of top golfers on the US (PGA) Tour who are using TaylorMade, and the sheer amount of them on tour,” explains the firm’s regional manager.

But what about that other vital component of the game, the ball?

According to the expert, the most popular ball for the average golfer is the entry-level Srixon, while at the higher end of the market Titleist is number one, with Callaway and Taylor Made close to the top also.

And the best ball? Bridgestone, according to Carr, which “wipes the floor with all others”.

Spreading the wealth

Demand to play on Ireland’s trophy links and parkland courses has forced an initiative which has seen the break-up of Ireland’s golfing landscape.

Due to the exceptional interest from US tourists in playing the likes of Old Head, Ballybunion, Portmarnock, and other landmark courses, Fáilte Ireland this year introduced a plan to increase regional diversification of Irish golf.

In other words, tell the market about the other hidden gems out there, in parts of the country not as renowned internationally, as Co Dublin or the Southwest.

The collaboration between Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and Tourism Northern Ireland has led to a strong initiative to promote the likes of the Northwest, the Northeast, and other lesser-known courses across the country.

The shining example is the explosion of golf tourism around the Donegal region where visitor numbers are riding high this summer.

“If you look at the northwest for example, from Carne and Enniscrone up to the likes of Rosapenna and Nairn and Portnoo, there are an awful lot of exceptionally good golf courses in that region,” explains Barry Maye of the Ireland Golf Tour Operator Association.

While the initiative is only in its early marketing phase across North America, it is already creating a buzz around those less established courses, as golf chiefs look to share the demand more evenly.