One-third of the way through the year, and just entering the peak of the playing season, golf appears to continue to ride a high it has been on for six years.
Year-over-year rounds played were up by nearly 6 percent in April, compared with the same month in 2025, according to the Golf Datatech Monthly Rounds Played Report. Rounds played through the first four months of the year were up by 5.3 percent when compared with the first four months of last year.
The report represents the difference in rounds played in April 2025 and April 2026 at a sample of public-access and private golf facilities, as well as rounds played in the four-month period in both years.
Rounds in April were up in 32 states, with Kentucky and Tennessee leading the way with an increase of 49 percent, followed by Indiana (44 percent); Ohio and Oklahome (23 percent); Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Pennsylvania (16 percent); New Jersey (15 percent); Delaware and Maryland (13 percent); Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island (11 percent); and Georgia (10 percent).
Kentucky and Tennessee also led the way with the largest increases in demand through the first four months of the year at 31 percent, followed by Indiana (28 percent); Oklahoma (23 percent); Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana and Mississippi (19 percent); Washington (14 percent); Texas (13 percent); Nevada (11 percent); and Oregon (10 percent).
The greatest drop in rounds played through April were in New York, where demand was down by 10 percent.
