The number of off-course golf participants and off-course venues continues to grow, from golf entertainment facilities like Topgolf, Drive Shack and BigShots to commercial simulator locations popping up around the country. So, how big can the off-course golf market get?

As Troon’s manager of environmental science, Brianne Kenny has brought non-golfers with a negative perception of golf to the course, and turned around their notions about the game. Her efforts, and similar ones around the country, seek to address some existing misconceptions about the game’s environmental and ecological impact.

When you’re the one deciding where to play golf, how do you pick a course? This infographic mines NGF research to examine the decision-making process.

Rounds of golf for September 2019 were up 4.7% compared to a year ago thanks to increases in play throughout the East Coast and Midwest. Through the first three-quarters of the year, the national rounds-played total is now up a modest 0.6% year-over-year.

The biggest obstacles to golf participation remain cost, time, concern about ability and a lack of people to play with. Here’s what some facility operators are doing to break down participation barriers.