Golf Course Bust Is Over–140 New Courses Upcoming
It’s official. The golf course bust is over.
This year—2026—is a milestone year in which the balance between the opening and closing of golf courses has reached an equilibrium, says the National Golf Foundation.
The equilibrium signals an end to the prolonged correction that re-balanced and reshaped the industry during much of the past two decades.
Even more encouraging for the growth of golf, the NGF notes that it has seen more course openings the past few years than at any time since 2010. Simultaneously, new course projects have climbed to the highest levels in more than a decade. (Photo above is the new Anson Point course at Palmetto Bluff, SC.
140 New Golf Courses
Steve Smyers is designing Reynolds Lake Oconee’s new Fenmoor Golf Club, the community’s eighth championship course. A members-only course, it is set to open in Fall 2026.
At the start of 2026, the NGF counted more than 140 new courses that were in planning or under construction across the country.
In its notes, the NGF pointed out that the majority of these projects were undertaken by a specific and well-endowed market segment–private destination clubs, high-end real estate communities and resort properties.
It also noted that from a geographic standpoint, current and recent development activity was far from being evenly distributed.
Course Closures Fall to Their Lowest Count
In recent years, the NGF observed that course closures had fallen to their lowest counts since 2004.
The year 2006 marked the first year with more closures than openings, and that was just before the collapse of the housing market triggered the Great Recession and led to a cumulative 13 percent reduction in U.S. courses over the next 20 years.
Meanwhile, substantial renovation and reconstruction projects, course resurrections (where a long-closed facility, presumed to be gone forever, rose from the dirt back into operation), and a modest uptick in new development have all contributed to today’s state of equilibrium and the unprecedented financial health of golf’s supply.
90 Years Tracking Golf Facilities
The National Golf Foundation’s world-class team has maintained the definitive database of golf facilities and courses for 90 years–a priceless resource that catalogs the supply side of the game’s economy.
The NGF database is considered the gold standard for such information and is relied upon by the industry’s leading companies and organizations and beyond.
NGF members and clients who license it use the database as a critical resource for their CRM, to conduct market analyses, business strategy and sales development efforts. By studying the changes, the NGF identifies trends in America’s courses.
For those whose businesses depend on growth outside the U.S., the NGF built, and perpetually maintains, the most accurate and comprehensive list of every course in the world. Currently, 208 countries and territories have at least one golf course. Learn more about the NGF.
