MEASURING ECONOMIC IMPACT

Golf is so much more than just a game. It is a significant industry, a major contributor to the American economy and to the economic vitality of individual states. GOLF 20/20 published its first national report in 2002, which demonstrated that golf in 2000 was a $62 billion industry, bigger than the motion picture and recording industries combined. A follow-up report in 2007 confirmed that golf had grown to become a $76 billion industry, with a total impact on the U.S. economy in 2005 of $195 billion.

Additionally, the recent report indicates that golf is responsible for contributing about $3.5 billion annually to charities across the country, more than any other sporting activity.

In 2006, along with research partner SRI International, GOLF 20/20 developed a template with which individual states can affordably quantify golf's impact on their economy; to date 20 states have used or are currently using this template, and the resulting reports have been successful in establishing golf as a critical cog in the state's economic engine.