GETTING A TEE TIME: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF PUBLIC GOLF ACCESS IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

Previous studies have found that access to the game of golf is related to the racial and socioeconomic profiles of certain states in the US (Mitchelson and Lazaro 2004; Li et al. 2023). This study builds upon those findings by describing how race and income in metropolitan statistical areas across the US are related to the number of people per public golf course in those areas. The results of this study suggest that better access to public golf courses is related with higher white population percentages, lower median household income levels, and lower income inequality. Of these three predictor variables, white population percentage was found to have the strongest relationship with access. These findings help further develop the current understanding of how accessible golf for different groups of people in the United States.