Golf Statistics and Fun Facts
Sources:
World Records
- Longest Course: Nullarbor Links, 1365km
- Longest Hole: 1098 yards, Gunsan Country Club, South Korea
- Highest 18 hole course: 13,025 feet, Yak Course, India
- Lowest 18 hole course: -214 feet, Furnace Greek Golf Club, USA
European Records
- Longest Course: Rockcliffe Hall, 7897 yards
- Longest Hole: 783 yards, Penati Golf Resort, Slovakia
- Highest 18 hole course: 6677 feet, Via Lattea Golf Course, Italy
- Lowest 18 hole course: several meters below sea level, The Dutch Golf Club, Netherlands
UK Records
- Longest Course: Rockcliffe Hall, 7897 yards
- Longest Hole: 738 yards, Westray Golf Club, Orkney
- Highest 18 hole course: 1518 feet, West Monmouthshire, Wales
- Lowest 18 hole course: many at sea level
Most Golf Courses By Country: World
Most Golf Courses By Country: Europe
Most Golf Courses By Country: Americas (excl. USA & Canada)
Most Golf Courses By Country: Australasia
People Per Course
Taking the top 10 Countries with the most courses what is the average number of people per course.
It’s a good job golf is not all that popular in France or Germany otherwise you would probably struggle to get a game!
Personal Records
Lowest `18 Hole Score
The lowest recognized rounds are 55s by Rhein Gibson at the River Oaks Golf Club and Alexander Hughes at South Lakes Golf Club.
The same scores were also achieved by Steve Gilley at Lynwood G&CC, Homero Blancas in Longview, Texas and E.F. Staugaard at Montebello G.C. These rounds are not considered because the courses were less than 6500 yards long.
Most Rounds in a Year (Walking)
Yancy Methvien played an amazing 911 rounds during 2019 beating the previous mark of 878!
Youngest golfer to score a hole-in-one
Christian Carpenter, 4 years and 159 days.
Most holes played in a day while walking
Eric Byrnes, 420 holes at Half Moon Bay.
Most holes played in a day while riding in a cart
Robb James, 821 holes at Victoria Golf Club, Edmonton.
Longest Serving Club Member
Willie Cuthbert of Kirkintilloch Golf Club, 90 Years!
Golf Participation
USA
According to the National Golf Foundation
- 36.9 million Americans played golf in some form in 2020 (golf course, driving range, simulators)
- 3 million people played their first round in 2020, a big increase from previous years
- 3.1 million junior players during 2020
- 6 million female golfers, a rise of almost half a million in 2020
- 502 million rounds played, 14% higher than 2019 despite some courses being closed for covid-19
- 75% of all golf facilities are open to the general public
Europe
According to the R&A/EGA (2019 report)
- 4.13 million registered golfers, a slight increase for the year but down from 4.4 million in 2010
- 0.5% of the population are registered golfers
- 27% of registered golfers are female
- Germany had the highest number of registered golfers at 642,240
- North Macedonia had the fewest with 48
- Spain added 35,000 registered players from 2018
- Female participation in England, Scotland and Wales is lower than almost every other European country (as a percentage)
PGA Tour
Leading Money Winners Visualisation (1980-2021)
Bar chart race showing the leading money winners from 1980 to 2021. Highlights how much prize money has changed over the last 40 years.
Driving Distance and Accuracy
I’ve put together some information on driving distance and accuracy covering some of the major tours here.
Lowest 18 Hole Scores (PGA Tour)
The first sub- 60 score on the PGA Tour didn’t arrive until 1977. We had to wait another 14 years for the next one but now we seem to have sub- 60 scores on an almost regular basis.
| Score | Player | Venue | Year |
| 58 | Jim Furyk | TPC River Highlands | 2016 |
| 59 | Scottie Scheffler | TPC Boston | 2020 |
| 59 | Kevin Chappell | The Old White TPC, Greenbrier | 2020 |
| 59 | Brandt Snedeker | Sedgefield Country Club | 2018 |
| 59 | Adam Hadwin | La Quinta Country Club | 2017 |
| 59 | Justin Thomas | Waialae Country Club | 2017 |
| 59 | Jim Furyk | Conway Farms Golf Club | 2013 |
| 59 | Stuart Appleby | The Old White, Greenbrier | 2010 |
| 59 | Paul Goydos | TPC Deere Run | 2010 |
| 59 | David Duval | Palmer Course, PGA West | 1999 |
| 59 | Chip Beck | Sunrise Golf Club | 1991 |
| 59 | Al Geiberger | Colonial Country Club | 1977 |
Lowest 72 Hole Totals (PGA Tour)
| Score | Player | Venue | Round Scores | Relative to Par |
| 253 | Justin Thomas | Waialae Country Club | 59-64-65-65 | -27 |
| 254 | Dustin Johnson | TPC Boston | 67-60-64-63 | -30 |
| 254 | Tommy Armour III | TPC San Antonio | 64-62-63-65 | -26 |
| 256 | Phil Mickelson | Stadium Course, TPC Scottsdale | 60-65-64-67 | -28 |
| 256 | Russell Henley | Waialae Country Club | 63-63-67-63 | -24 |
| 256 | Mark Calcavecchia | Stadium Course, TPC Scottsdale | 65-60-64-67 | -28 |
| 257 | Michael Kim | TPC Deere Run | 63-64-64-66 | -27 |
| 257 | Jimmy Walker | Waialae Country Club | 66-66-62-63 | -23 |
| 257 | Tiger Woods | East Lake Golf Club | 64-63-64-66 | -23 |
| 257 | Mike Souchak | Brackenridge Park Golf Club | 60-68-64-65 | -27 |
Making the Cut
Babe Didrikson Zaharias is the only woman to make the cut in a PGA Tour event. She made the cut at the 1945 Los Angeles Open and played all 72 holes at the Phoenix Open and Tucson Open.
European Tour
Most Order of Merit Titles
Colin Montgomerie: 8 (including 7 consecutively)
Lowest 18 Hole Scores (European/DP World Tour)
| Name | Year | Tournament | Course | To Par |
| Oliver Fisher | 2018 | Portugal Masters | Oceanico Victoria Golf Course | -12 |
| David Llewellyn | 1988 | AGF Biarritz Open | Biarritz Golf Club | -8 |
| Ian Woosnam | 1990 | Torras Monte Carlo Open | Mont Agel Golf Club | -9 |
| Darren Clarke | 1992 | European Monte Carlo Open | Mont Agel Golf Club | -9 |
| Jamie Spence | 1992 | Canon European Masters | Crans-sur-Sierre | -12 |
| Johan Rystrom | 1992 | European Monte Carlo Open | Mont Agel Golf Club | -9 |
| Paul Curry | 1992 | Bell’s Scottish Open | Gleneagles Hotel Kings | -10 |
| Bernhard Langer | 1997 | Linde German Masters | Berliner Golf & Country Club | -12 |
| Darren Clarke | 1999 | Smurfit European Open | K Club Palmer Course | -12 |
| Tobias Dier | 2002 | TNT Open | Hilversumsche Golf Club | -10 |
| Fredrik Jacobson | 2003 | Linde German Masters | Gut Larchenhof | -12 |
| Ernie Els | 2004 | Heineken Classic | Royal Melbourne | -12 |
| Phillip Archer | 2006 | Celtic Manor Wales Open | Celtic Manor Resort Roman Road Course | -9 |
| Rafael Cabrera-Bello | 2009 | Austrian Golf Open | Fontana Golf Club | -11 |
| Kenneth Ferrie | 2011 | Open de Andalucia de Golf by Turkish Airlines | Parador del Golf Malaga Old Course | -10 |
| Branden Grace | 2012 | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Kingsbarns Golf Club | -12 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 2012 | WGC HSBC Champions | Missions Hills Golf Club | -12 |
| Peter Uihlein | 2013 | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Kingsbarns Golf Club | -12 |
| Scott Jamieson | 2013 | Portugal Masters | Oceanico Victoria Golf Course | -11 |
| Brandon Stone | 2018 | Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open | Gullane | -10 |
There have been two unofficial 59s scored on the European Tour. They aren’t counted because preferred lies were in operation.
Jorge Campillo and Colin Nel both managed it in the rain-affected Nelson Mandela Championship in 2013.
Cost of Golf
Green Fees of Open Championship Venues
The cost of playing former and current Open Championship venues continues to rise well above the rate of inflation. The laws of supply and demand!
I played Royal Lytham and St Annes in the late 90s and the green fee was £78 and that included lunch and a strokesaver.
I played Royal Birkdale in 2000 or 2001 and I think that was £99 just for the green fee.
Carnoustie was charging just under £100 in 2004 when I played and offered a ticket covering all three of their courses for £113.
Between 2000 and 2020 UK inflation totaled 72%!
The rates displayed are the adult weekday rate for 2021.
| Golf Course | Green Fee (£) | Green Fee $ ($1 = £0.72) |
| Turnberry | 350 | 486.11 |
| Muirfield | 285 | 395.83 |
| Carnoustie | 270 | 375.00 |
| Royal Troon | 260 | 361.11 |
| Royal Birkdale | 250 | 347.22 |
| Royal St George’s | 250 | 347.22 |
| Royal Portrush | 240 | 333.33 |
| Royal Lytham and St Annes | 230 | 319.44 |
| Royal Liverpool | 220 | 305.56 |
| St Andrews | 195 | 270.83 |
| Prestwick | 195 | 270.83 |
| Royal Cinque Ports | 175 | 243.06 |
| Prince’s | 100 | 138.89 |
| Musselburgh Links | 16.5 | 22.92 |
Notable Players
Jack Nicklaus
The ‘Golden Bear’ still holds the record of the most major championships. He finished 2nd 19 times and 3rd on 9 occasions.
- Most major championships: 18.
- 3rd on the all-time list of PGA Tour victories with 73.
- The oldest winner of the Masters at 46 years and 82 days.
- Made the cut in The Open Championship for 23 consecutive years starting in 1962.
- Has made the most cuts at the US Open, 35.
- Has won each professional major at least 3 times. (Tiger Woods is the only other player to achieve that)
Tiger Woods
Tiger is one of only a handful of sporting stars to earn more than $1 billion in their careers. Here’s a look at how he did it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find accurate information for 2018, 2019.
- $120,851,706 PGA Tour earnings. No.1 on the all-time list.
- 683 weeks as world number one. Greg Norman is second with 331.
- 41 European Tour wins without ever actually being a member!
- 82 PGA Tour wins. Tied with Sam Snead.
- 15 major championships, second only to Jack Nicklaus.
- Held all four majors at one time. The only player to achieve that.
Oldest Player to Win a Major
Phil Mickelson, 50 years of age, PGA Championship 2021, Ocean Course, Kiawah Island.
Youngest Player to Win a Major
Young Tom Morris, 17 years of age, Open Championship 1868, Prestwick G.C.
Fun Facts
- Celine Dion owns her own course, Le Mirage G.C., Quebec. Her golf will go on!
- Clint Eastwood owns Tehama G.C., California. I think that has made his day!
- Justin Timberlake purchased Big Creek Golf Course in Memphis and renamed it Mirimichi.
Golf Statistics and Fun Facts: Summary
I hope you found the statistics interesting. I’ll be adding to this page on a regular basis.
