Spanish golf closed the year 2025 with 317,155 federated players, of whom 315,437 were amateurs and 1,718 professionals, according to official figures as of December 31.
This represents an absolute increase of 11,552 licenses over the past year, which in percentage terms amounts to 3.8% growth compared to the beginning of the year. These figures are the second highest since 2010, surpassed only by the growth recorded in 2022, when the post-pandemic phase was consolidated.
Both figures—absolute and percentage—confirm the growth experienced over the last seven years, a consolidation period that has gradually overcome the effects of the economic crisis and the coronavirus health crisis that affected the years between 2011 and 2020.
After such a challenging period, the very nature of golf—a healthy sport played outdoors, safe, and naturally allowing social distancing—has in recent years become an attractive option for many people, who see golf as a healthy activity both physically and psychologically.
This increase in golf licenses marks the seventh consecutive year of growth, breaking the prolonged nine-year decline experienced between 2011 and 2019, which coincided with much of the extended economic crisis and social changes that affected many sectors of Spanish society.
This latest seven-year period, with overall growth of 15.8%, also confirms a trend that began in 2013, when the peak decline was reached (specifically -6.0%), later easing in 2014 (-3.7%), 2015 (-2.7%), 2016 (-1.5%), 2017 (-0.5%) and 2018 (-0.3%), before giving way to growth of 0.1% in 2019 and 2020, 4.8% in 2021, 3.0% in 2022, 1.8% in 2023, 2.2% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025. Statistically, this curve represents a clear turning point from that moment onward.
Looking at a longer time frame, it is worth recalling that in 1990 there were 45,000 golfers in Spain; the 100,000 mark was surpassed in 1996; 200,000 were registered in the early months of 2002; 250,000 were reached in mid-2004; and by the end of 2006 the number exceeded 300,000 federated players. The historical peak was reached in 2010, with 338,588 licenses, after which the turning-point curve described above began.
Data by Autonomous Communities
During 2025, performance across Spain’s Autonomous Communities was solid in virtually all of them, with positive figures being the general trend, including some notably significant increases.
In absolute terms, Madrid, with 98,685 federated players, accounts for 31.1% of total licenses, followed by Andalusia with 53,442 and Catalonia with 30,581, representing 16.8% and 9.6% of the total, respectively.
The Valencian Community (24,191), Basque Country (18,639), Castile and León (14,752) and Galicia (13,089) are the other Autonomous Communities exceeding the 10,000 federated players threshold.
The region that added the most licenses in 2025 was Madrid, with 3,686 new federated players (3.9% growth), followed by the Valencian Community (1,786; 8.0%), Andalusia (1,540; 2.9%), Catalonia (879; 2.9%), Balearic Islands (667; 7.7%), Galicia (456; 3.6%), Canary Islands (434; 5.2%), Murcia (311; 4.0%), Castile and León (267; 1.8%), Castile-La Mancha (214; 3.8%), Cantabria (210; 2.7%), Navarre (137; 4.0%), Extremadura (87; 3.1%), Asturias (47; 0.6%) and La Rioja (39; 1.9%).
In percentage terms, special mention should be made of the Autonomous Communities that exceeded the national average growth of 3.8%. This was led by the Valencian Community with 8.0% growth.
The Balearic Islands, Aragon, and the Canary Islands, with 7.7%, 6.0%, and 5.2% respectively, are also part of this leading group, while Murcia (4.0%), Navarre (4.0%), and Madrid (3.9%) also grew above average, matching the growth level of Castile-La Mancha.
At the opposite end are the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, although in both cases the decreases were moderate or very slight, with 2 and 15 fewer federated players, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Women and youth development in Spanish golf
It should be highlighted that the number of female licenses currently stands at 86,882, representing an increase of 2,419 licenses compared to the previous year. In relative terms, this accounts for 27.2% of all golf licenses in Spain.
Of these, 51,805 correspond to women over 50 years of age, 22,054 to women aged between 21 and 50, and 12,303 to those under 21, with special mention of the 8,160 girls under 16.
Among younger players, it is worth noting that Spanish golf’s youth base consists of 24,020 boys and girls under 16—almost 38,000 (37,942) if the age range is extended to under 21—which represents 7.6% and 12.0% of total federated players, respectively.
This steady overall growth process coincides with the progressive implementation of the Golf in Schools Programme, the Friends Cup, and various youth promotion initiatives jointly developed over several years by the RFEG, Regional Federations, and Clubs, with notable support from the Spanish Sports Council (CSD) through the Women and Sport and Universo Mujer programmes.
Source: RFEG