How Many Golf Courses Does the World Have?

David Guion holds a BBA in finance from Southwest Texas State University and a JD from South Texas College of Law in Houston, TX. Since 2006 he has worked as an office leasing broker in the Houston office of Cushman and Wakefield. In his free time David Guion is an avid golfer who has played many of the most prestigious golf courses in the world.

There are almost 40,000 golf courses around the world. As of 2019, close to 78% of the world’s golf courses were in the US, Japan, England, South Korea, Australia, Sweden, Germany, Scotland, France, and Canada. These countries make up the top ten golfing nations in the world. The US with over 16,000 golf courses, has the highest number of courses. It is followed by Japan, which has close to 3,200 courses, and Canada with slightly over 2,600.

A few courses stand out because of their rich history, events they have hosted, course difficulty, etc. These courses include The Old Course at St. Andrews, which is the oldest golf course in the world, Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, New Jersey’s Pine Valley Golf Club, and Royal County Down Golf Course in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. These courses have held some of golf’s most prestigious tournaments.