The USGA today unveiled the 2025 Golf Scorecard, an annual data report that uses information from scores posted under the World Handicap System™ (WHS™) to highlight golf participation trends. 3.68 million golfers with a Handicap Index® posted a record 82 million scores domestically in 2025, providing a unique macro snapshot of how the game was played last year. 

New to the 2025 Scorecard is America’s Golfiest State, which considers the total number of scores posted by golfers in the state with a Handicap Index, as well as days in the active posting season window, to provide a look at which state truly plays the most golf. With one of the shortest active posting seasons in the country, Maine takes home the title of America’s Golfiest State in 2025, with the most golf played when taking each factor into account. Across the country, Florida leads the Southeast based on these metrics, Wisconsin paces the Midwest, Colorado heads up the Central and Arizona carries the torch for the West.

View the 2025 Golf Scorecard

Comparing the 82 million-plus scores posted in 2025 to data going back to 2020, notable trends and stats include:

• Continued growth in 9-hole score posting: For the fifth consecutive year, there was a record number of 9-hole rounds played with 14,998,824 scores posted in 2025 – a 5% increase over 2024 and up over 46% since 2020.
• More golfers with a Handicap Index®: 3.68 million golfers in the U.S. maintained a Handicap Index in 2025 – up more than 8.2% year over year and up over 46% since 2020.
• New golfers posting more 9-hole rounds: Those who established a Handicap Index in 2025 were more likely to play and post 9-hole rounds. Among these golfers, 50.2% of scores posted by females and 26.7% of scores posted by males were 9-hole scores.
• Short-course posting trend continues: Building on the success of score posting at short courses in 2024, over 290,000 scores were posted at more than 470 short courses nationwide.
• Most rounds posted are recreational: A widely held notion that a Handicap Index is only for golfers who are playing in elite competitions continues to be dispelled by the data, as 94.4% of the 82 million rounds posted were recreational, and over 75% of all golfers with a Handicap Index were playing and posting purely for fun.
• Number of yards played spans the country: There are over 4.4 million yards from the site of the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally, Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., to 2026 U.S. Open venue Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y., which means it would take 98,723 trips from Riviera to Shinnecock to equal the number of yards played in 2025.

“We were thrilled at the positive response to last year’s inaugural snapshot of the recreational game and enjoy using World Handicap System data to help tell these compelling stories about golf in the U.S.,” said Steve Edmondson, USGA managing director of Handicapping and Course Rating. “Alongside our Allied Golf Associations, we have seen another record year of score posting and golfer engagement and are all excited to see trends continue to evolve.”

2025 GHIN Rewind 

Those with a Handicap Index can access their own personal golf recap via GHIN Rewind, which was deployed for the fourth year in mid-December. The 2025 GHIN Rewind added a spotlight for users who posted their scores hole-by-hole, detailing their scoring distribution (birdie or better, par, bogey, etc.) and scoring average by hole type (par 3, par, 4, par 5).

GHIN Rewind’s personalized year-in-review includes comprehensive data highlights including Handicap Index changes, average score, total rounds played, lowest and highest scores, courses played, days and months played, hardest and easiest courses, and most-played courses. The engaging, story-style format is designed to be easily shared on social media. 

“It’s been so rewarding to see GHIN Rewind become a staple on the recreational golf calendar, and we are continually energized by the enthusiasm we see for the initiative each year,” said Tom Padula, USGA senior director of GHIN. “We know golfers want more insight into their scoring and performance data, and our users can look forward to new features and experiences related to stats and insights this coming year.”

Those who accessed their personal golf recap in mid-December can now revisit their GHIN Rewind and see their full year of posting activity, which has been updated to account for any rounds played in December. Players must have posted at least three 18-hole rounds to see their GHIN Rewind. The feature is available on the GHIN app for iOS and Android.

Download the GHIN app presented by Sentry now on iOS or Android, and for more information about the app and its features, please visit GHIN.com.