Industry news
the Olympic Games in Rio last year, allowing for
worldwide broadcasting of the event. And with
the news of a potential extension of golf into the
2024 Olympics last week, further global visibility
opportunities will be up for grabs.
And yes, junior participation is up for the first
time in years. In the U.S., recent data shows
that junior participation has grown 25 per cent,
from 2.4 to 3 million participants, between 2011
and 2015. Similarly in Australia reports showed
an increase in junior members under the age
of 18, now accounting for 3.6 per cent of total
members.
Part of the accumulative involvement can be
traced back to the many youth initiatives offered
to Aussie children. One such initiative is the
Federal Government’s ‘Sporting Schools’ – a
school based participation program to help
children foster an interest in sports, which is
offering golf clinics through MyGolf. It has also
been suggested by some industry leaders that
Topgolf and similar golf-entertainment venues,
and the emergence of PGA and LPGA Tour stars,
have helped cre