Ryan Johnson started playing golf less than a year ago. Already, he likes to hit the pickaxe in his spare time.
For his 19th birthday last month, his parents bought him new golf clubs. And his social media is filled with golf.
“I saw and saw a lot of people coming to golf,” said Johnson, of Jackson Township. “I know a lot of my friends have been asking to go golfing and stuff like that a lot more than we used to.”
Johnson and his friends are among the many people who have taken up the game in recent years, a movement seen at golf courses across Stark County where parking lots, tee times and business are booming.
Carrie Lowry, PGA director of golf and general manager at Legends of Massillon Golf Course, estimates that business at her school has increased 30% since the CCIDID-19 pandemic hit the US in spring 2020. Golf played at Legends, up to 300 golfers per day.
Across the US in 2021, 37.5 million people over the age of 6 participated in golf on and off the course, according to data from the National Golf Foundation. More than 3.2 million people played golf for the first time last year, breaking the previous record, set in 2000, by 800,000 people.
People flocked to golf courses because playing the game was a way to relieve stress, Lowry said, and it allowed people to be outside, away from the health restrictions imposed on indoor areas. This ushered in a new era of sport in which people who were not normally associated with it—such as youth and women—played a major role in the development of the sport.
More young people, women enjoying golf
“There’s a lot of growth in the younger age groups,” said Andy Lyons, owner of Lyons Den Golf Course near Canal Fulton. “A few years back it was just the opposite. To see also : Political experts assess the impact of the economy on the mid-term elections in the context of “bad economic policy”. All growth was in and predicted to be in the older (age group), and now we’re seeing a dramatic shift away from that.”
Mr Lyons said places like Topgolf and 1899 Indoor Golf – which use traditional golf equipment in competitive games – have encouraged people to try their hand at real golf courses.
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1899 Indoor Golf in Canton: Hitting the (pictured) links at 1899 Indoor Golf.
Sue Snode, business manager at Tannenhauf Golf Club in Alliance, agreed, saying more people in their 20s and 30s are coming to the golf course than ever before. Tannenhauf offers a number of junior programs and golf clinics for beginners, he added, which has increased the number of young players.
At Sable Creek Golf Course near Hartville, women have been playing better, said Director of Golf Ray Headley. He said more people are being allowed to work from home, which gives them more time to try new things, especially in the summer months.
Bringing home the bacon
As the number of people playing golf increases, so does the amount of money Stark golf courses are making this year. On the same subject : Russians buy cheaper food as incomes fall, says leading retailer. Diane Simms, manager of Edgewater Golf Club in Minerva, said there has been a significant increase in play at her course this year.
He cited Edgewater’s prices and a steady stream of weekday and weekend golfers as reasons for the course’s financial success. With the recent good weather, he said, people are trying to find a way to get outside.
Doug Sweitzer, superintendent at Spring Valley Golf Course in East Sparta, said his course has grown significantly between 2019 and 2021. This year, however, the course is down slightly from its 2021 standards, but he said this was due to rain and cold weather. except at the beginning of the year.
Sweitzer added that the closure of local golf courses, such as Skyland Pines and Tam O’Shanter, has also increased business in Spring Valley.
“A lot of people came and said the course they used to play was Skyland or Tammy, and they didn’t know our course was on the floor until COVID hit,” he said. “When these courses were closed, they found us and have been coming ever since.”
Contact Ryan by email at rmaxin@gannett.com, on Twitter at @ryanmaxin or by phone at 330-580-8412.
