Golfers in the United Kingdom spent £4.3 billion on their sport in 2014, accounting for 14% of all consumer spending on sport, according to a report funded by The R&A.
Golf also paid £990 million in taxes to the Government, said the independent study by Sheffield Hallam University’s Sport Industry Research Centre (SIRC).
More than half of consumer spending on golf, £2.2bn, was channelled through the UK’s near 3,000 golf clubs.
Meanwhile, golf equipment and clothing accounted for £939m of consumer expenditure, and golf-related tourism, events and accommodation a further £775m.
The report highlighted that the golf industry in the UK employs 74,480 people, with one-third employed directly by golf clubs in Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Golf’s gross value added (GVA), the wages and profits measure of economic activity, is calculated at £2bn, or 7% of GVA attributed to all sport in the UK.
After accounting for indirect and induced economic impact effects, the turnover of the UK golf industry is estimated at £10.3bn for 2014.
Martin Slumbers, chief executive of the R&A, said: “Golf is the first sport in the UK to evaluate its contribution to economic development in line with the Government’s ‘Sporting Future’ strategy, and these findings give us an important economic baseline for the golf industry against which we can measure future growth.
“There is plenty of room for optimism that golf can maintain and develop its position as one of the most popular sports in the UK, particularly in the year when it makes its return to the Olympic Games in Rio.”