The Economic Impact of Golf

Golf industry lobbyists were hard at work in Washington last week, using National Golf Day as the locus for educating Congress and the Administration on the value of the game.

Golf, as it turns out, is a $76 billion industry, providing 2 million jobs that pay $61 billion in wages. That’s the equivalent of the movie industry and publishing industries combined.

Even more important. Golf isn’t the realm of the multinational corporation. Of the 16,000 golf courses in the United States, 90% can be classified as “small businesses.” That greatly increases the impact on local economies.

For its part, the PGA Tour operates as a charitable organization, and last year generated $124 million for various causes.

Tim Finchem:

“The professional side of the game has a $3.6-billion impact and last year raised $124 million for charity. And so we are integrated into communities to raise money for charity. Most of the reaction I get from members of Congress is they recognize the value of corporate sponsorships in sports marketing generally, and particularly with the PGA Tour which is 100 percent organized for charitable purposes.”