Dear Golfer,
As another year comes to a close, it’s time to reflect on the past 12 months and share some interesting numbers and statistics. Join us as we take a look at the trends and milestones that shaped the game this year.
HANDICAP NEWS
Number Of Golf Club Members?
Some very good news was an uptick (albeit a slight one) in the total number of golfers, by 2.38%, from 152 999 in 2023 to 156 641 at the end of 2024.
This statistic is not only for South Africa, but also includes Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Swaziland and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The total number of local golfers in SA, at the end of 2024 was 139 496, comprised of 123 123 males and 16,373 females (which represents the 1.87% increase mentioned previously), against the end of 2023, when the total was 136 923 golfers of which 120 856 were male, and 16 067 females.
Total Number Of rounds?
While not reaching record-breaking levels, 2024 saw an encouraging total of 4 209 011 rounds registered, reflecting a 0.81% increase compared to 2023, which recorded 4 175 266 rounds, and this growth highlights the continued enthusiasm for the game across the golfing community, both here in South Africa and globally.
From the total number of scores entered in 2024, 10.29%, or 433 186, were hole-by-hole scores, showing an increase compared to the 9.57% (72 315) recorded in 2023.
This rise suggests a growing preference among golfers for detailed score submissions.
The busiest month for golf was March, in which 410 509 scores were captured. This number was an increase from the previous year, during which the most rounds played in any month were the 393 922 scores captured in December 2023.
The three next busiest months for 2024 were: December which registered a strong showing again, with a total of 390 941 rounds, followed by January with 386 991 and 374 209 in February.
This suggests that the majority of us are still ‘fair-weather’ golfers, which is perfectly acceptable. However, given the almost Biblical volumes of rain experienced by many parts of the country since December 2024, it will be interesting to see whether this will have had a ‘dampening’ (!) effect on rounds’ numbers, when we do our look-back in January 2026?!
Which Were The Busiest Golf Clubs?
In this category, there were 11 164 rounds separating the top two clubs in South Africa, both of which are 36 holes’ venues – Country Club Johannesburg (72 914) and Randpark Golf Club (61 750).
In the 18-hole-course category, Westlake Golf Club came in at number 1 with 40 893 registered rounds, at an average of 110 rounds per day, and it was closely followed by Clovelly CC, which was only 779 rounds behind.
The highest number of 9-hole rounds played during 2024, were at Somerset West Golf Club, with 8 951 ‘9-holers’ captured between visitors and members. Coming in a close second was Hermanus Golf Club with 8 314 9-hole-rounds.
Eagle Canyon hosted the most handicapped visitor rounds at 25 708, with Fancourt taking second with 20 586 visitor rounds, followed by Sun City with 17 188 visitor rounds.
Which Platform Holds ‘The Torch’ For Most Submitted Scores?
The HNA mobile app once again proved to be the preferred method for golfers to submit their scores in 2024.
The tally – a remarkable 87.06% (3 665 040) of all scores submitted were via this platform.
Additionally, 2.52% (105 980) of scores were entered through the clubs’ terminals, while 3.01% (126 573) were submitted via the Golfer Login on the website, demonstrating the variety of tools available for golfers to manage their scores effectively.
The average handicap index for male golfers in 2024 was 14.2, while the average for women was 21.0.
The Busiest Clubs Per Region Were:
|
Union |
Club |
|
Central Gauteng Golf Union |
THE COUNTRY CLUB JOHANNESBURG |
|
Ekurhuleni Golf Union |
BENONI COUNTRY CLUB |
|
Gauteng North Golf Union |
WINGATE PARK COUNTRY CLUB |
|
Mpumalanga Golf Union |
MBOMBELA GOLF CLUB |
|
North West Golf Union |
MAGALIESPARK COUNTRY CLUB |
|
Limpopo Golf Union |
Polokwane Golf Club |
|
Boland Golf Union |
HERMANUS GOLF CLUB |
|
Border Golf Union |
EAST LONDON GOLF CLUB |
|
Eastern Province Golf Union |
PORT ELIZABETH GOLF CLUB |
|
Free State Golf Union |
MACCAUVLEI |
|
KwaZulu-Natal Golf Union |
MOUNT EDGECOMBE CC |
|
Southern Cape Golf Union |
MOSSEL BAY GOLF CLUB |
|
Western Province Golf Union |
WESTLAKE GOLF CLUB |
|
Northern Cape |
KIMBERLEY GOLF CLUB |
|
Country |
Club |
|
Botswana |
GABORONE GOLF CLUB |
|
Malawi |
LILONGWE GOLF CLUB |
|
Zimbabwe |
ROYAL HARARE GOLF CLUB |
|
Tanzania |
DARES SALAAM (DAR GYMKHANA) CLUB |
|
Mozambique |
CLUB de GOLFE da BEIRA |
|
Democratic Republic of Congo |
KINSHASA GOLF CLUB |
|
Zambia |
LUSAKA GOLF CLUB |
|
Swaziland |
NKONYENI GOLF ESTATE |
|
Namibia |
WINDHOEK GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB |
Note: All figures are only for rounds that are registered on the HNA system.
GOLF NEWS AND TIPS
- The PGA Tour says big changes are coming. Here’s what they mean
- Hovland just gave another perfect Hovland response to the state of his game
- Scottie Scheffler details his gnarly Christmas Day cooking accident
- Tony Finau’s 5 speed keys for getting 25 extra yards off the tee
- TGL’s biggest tech issue isn’t what you think it is, Rory McIlroy says
Quote of the Month
“You don’t have the game you played last year or last week. You only have today’s game. It may be far from your best, but that’s all you’ve got. Harden your heart and make the best of it.” – Walter Hagen
Swing easy!
The Handicaps Team
