For the first time in two decades, new golf course construction appears to be on the rise.
According to Golf Inc. and the National Golf Foundation, 54 golf courses are under construction nationwide and at least 38 others are in the planning stages.
Since golf course closings began outnumbering new construction in 2006, an average of 36 new courses a year have been built while closures number an average of 135 annually.
According to the NGF, nearly 75 percent of all new course construction in that time has been either in the resort, upscale residential or private club markets. That trend is changing as most of the new projects are short courses that are designed to grow the game, says NGF.
Most new course construction is taking place in the South with one-third in Florida and Texas.
According to NGF, six of the new course projects are planned for California, where no new course has built in more than five years.
Since 2006, 624 courses have opened and 2,162 closed for a net loss of 1,538.