Spanish golf ended 2016 with 273,527 members, according to the official count data as of December 31. This figure represents an absolute decrease of 4,255 licenses during the past year, which in percentage terms is 1.5% less than at the beginning of the year, the seventh decrease experienced in the history of Spanish golf, covering the period 2011-2017, coinciding with much of the prolonged economic crisis that conditions the development of many sectors of Spanish society.
Within this period of decrease 2011-2017, it is the third consecutive time that the percentage rate has improved with respect to previous years – when the decreases experienced were 6.0% (2014), 3.7% (2015) and 2.7% (2016) -, which in statistical terms is understood, if this trend is maintained, as a turning point since the aforementioned moment.
Taking a longer period of time as a reference, it should be recalled that in 1990 there were 45,000 players in Spain; the 100,000 mark was passed in 1996; 200,000 were registered in the first months of 2002; in mid-2004 there were 250,000 and at the end of 2006 the barrier of 300,000 members was surpassed. The maximum peak in the number of licenses occurred in 2010, when there were 338,588 members, and since then the process of decrease described above has begun.
Women and junior golf in Spain
It should be noted that the number of women’s licenses currently exceeds 79,000, which represents 29.2% of the total number of golf licenses in Spain.
Of these, 41,655 were women over 50 years of age, 25,958 were women between 21 and 50 years of age and 11,838 were under 21 years of age, with special mention for the 8,340 under 16 years of age, practically the same as a year earlier.
Among the youngest, it should be noted that the Spanish golf quarry is made up of 23,160 boys and girls under 16 years of age -somewhat more than 34,000, specifically 34,020, if the age range is extended to 21 years-, which in percentage terms represents 8.5 % or 12.5 %, respectively.
In this case, likewise, the base of Spanish golf is slightly expanded, since at the first of 2015 there were 21,530 under 16 years old -33,682 up to 21 years old-, which in percentage terms represented 7.6% or 11.9%, respectively, a process that coincides with the progressive and gradual implementation of the Golf in Schools Program that RFEG, Autonomous Federations and Clubs have been jointly developing for several years now.
Data by Autonomous Communities
If during 2015 all the Autonomous Communities recorded red numbers in the licensing section, in 2016 three have ended in positive and another three in a situation of technical balance.
Murcia, with 5,437 licenses and an increase of 1.2%, has added the most licenses. The Balearic Islands, with 6,865 licenses and an increase of 0.1%, and Extremadura, with 2,348 and 0.1%, also experienced a slight upturn.
In terms of losses, attenuated with respect to previous years, Comunidad Valenciana and Baleares are the best off, with decreases of 1 (0%) and 4 (0%) licenses, respectively, figures that can be considered as balance with respect to 2015.
Likewise, Navarre (-0.4%), Andalusia (-0.4%), Madrid (-1.1%) and Galicia (-1.1%) were below the national average of the aforementioned 1.5% decrease.
At the opposite pole, above-average losses were recorded in Cantabria (1.6%), Ceuta (1.9%), the Basque Country (2.6%), the Canary Islands (2.9%), Castilla y León (3.2%), Asturias (3.4%), Catalonia (3.6%), La Rioja (3.6%), Castilla y La Mancha (3.8%) and Melilla (4.8%).
In absolute terms, Catalonia and Madrid were the Autonomous Communities that suffered the greatest decrease in the number of members in 2016, specifically 1,118 and 939 fewer licenses, respectively.
Golf by province
In provincial terms, eleven of them have experienced an increase in the number of members, a good figure that maintains the upward trend of last year, when only six recorded small increases. These provinces with upward figures are Las Palmas, Córdoba, Alicante, Castellón, Murcia, Valladolid, Badajoz, Zaragoza, Almería, the Balearic Islands and Cádiz.
Particularly striking is the case of Las Palmas, which experienced an increase of 306 licenses in the last year.
In contrast, Madrid and Barcelona, with 939 and 727 fewer licenses, with higher population and number of federates, lead the provincial losses in 2016.
In absolute terms, Madrid, with 81,836 members, accounts for 30% of the total number of licenses, followed by Andalusia, with 43,653, and Catalonia, with 29,528, accounting for 16% and 10.8% of the total number of members, respectively.
The Valencian Community (19,359), the Basque Country (17,610), Castilla y León (13,955) and Galicia (10,469) are the other Autonomous Communities with more than 10,000 members.
The golf crisis in other countries
The EGA, the European Golf Federation, publishes on its website the number of licenses in the countries of the Old Continent. From these data it is clear that the decline in the number of federated has been more pronounced in the British Isles, where in England, for example, more than 200,000 licenses have been lost since 2004, still all immersed in an economic boom that gave way to the crisis affecting half the world. Pending their 2016 year-end data, the British Isles are the biggest losers.
Special mention also goes to Sweden, which reached its peak in 2004, when almost 594,000 members were registered, some 120,000 more than in 2015. After a few years of losses, this year it has again added licenses (2,006). Germany (1,044) is also back many years later.
For their part, countries of the economic strength of the Netherlands or France have grown significantly between 2004 and 2015, despite posting losses year after year since the onset of the crisis.
In Spain, the peak occurred in 2010, with 338,588 federated members, although in the whole period analyzed (2004 to 2016) some 32,000 licenses were gained (up 13.2 %).
Country Year 2004 Year 2016 Difference % Difference
England 878,821 678,372 -200,449 – 22.8%.
Ireland 255,200 194,151 -61,049 – 23.9 %.
Scotland 260,043 199,244 -60,799 – 23.3 %.
Wales 70,728 49,084 -21,644 – 30.6 %.
Sweden 593,873 476,837 -117,036 – 19.7 %.
Germany 457,237 640,181 182,944 + 40.0 %.
Netherlands 225,000 382,234 157,234 + 69.8 %.
France 325,229 407,569 82,340 + 25.3 %.
SPAIN 241,618 273,527* 31,909 +13.2 %.
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