Golf is directly worth about €717 million to Ireland’s economy each year following significant growth fuelled by increased participation, strong club membership, and a recovery in golf tourism following the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new research.
Conducted by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, the research outlines the economic impact of golf across the island of Ireland in 2023, analysing consumer spending, gross value added (GVA), employment and tax revenues.
This headline GVA figure can be broken down as €593 million for the Republic and £108 million (€124 million) for Northern Ireland.
The report said the industry supports about 15,600 jobs, with 12,200 of these in the Republic. About 21 per cent are roles directly within golf clubs.
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There has been a 117 per cent increase in GVA since 2014, as well as a 129 per cent rise in golf-related employment. This growth was largely driven by an increase in golf participation, which rose from 7.6 per cent to 10 per cent of the adult population.
Consumer spending on golf was found to be €703 million, which is equivalent to €100 per head of population. This can be broken down as €509 million in the Republic and £170 million in Northern Ireland.
Golf club membership fees and subscriptions represent the largest category of consumer spending on golf, totalling €143 million, which accounts for 20 per cent of the total consumer spending on the sport.
In addition to playing golf, consumer spending at major golf events has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Attendance at the Irish Open 2023 was 13 per cent higher than in 2022, while the Women’s Irish Open enjoyed an increase of 20 per cent.
When the indirect effects of the industry, such as the food and drink required to run the catering operation in a golf club, are accounted for, the headline figure rises to more than €1 billion.
The report established that the balance between direct and indirect impacts gives a multiplier of 1.47, which means an investment of €1 million would be expected to generate €1.47 million throughout the economy.
It applied the same analysis to employment, and established a multiplier of 1.28, which means the creation of one job in the golf industry would lead to the creation of a further 0.28 jobs in the wider economy.
Tax on golf-related activities was about €277.6 million, resulting from tax on consumption (VAT) of €121.2 million; tax on incomes from employment of €124.8 million; and tax on corporate profits of €31.6 million.
The findings were unveiled by Golf Ireland and the R&A in Dublin on Thursday.
R&A director of public affairs Robert Oxley said discussions with the Government are “ongoing” in relation to the possibility of The Open and Women’s Open coming to Portmarnock in the future.
