World popularity
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In 2005 Golf Digest calculated that there were nearly 32,000 golf courses in the world, approximately half of them in the United States . [15] The countries with most golf courses in relation to population, starting with the best endowed were: Scotland , New Zealand , Australia , Republic of Ireland , Northern Ireland , Canada , Wales , United States , Sweden , and England (countries with fewer than 500,000 people were excluded). Apart from Sweden all of these countries have English as the official language, but the number of courses in new territories is increasing rapidly. For example the first golf course in the People's Republic of China only opened in the mid-1980s, but by 2005 there were 200 courses in that country.

The professional sport was initially dominated by British golfers, but since World War I , America has produced the greatest quantity of leading professionals. Other Commonwealth countries such as Australia and South Africa are also traditional powers in the sport. Since around the 1970s, Japan , Scandinavian and other Western European countries have produced leading players on a regular basis. The number of countries with high-class professionals continues to increase steadily, especially in East Asia . South Korea is notably strong in women's golf.

The last decade or so has seen a marked increase in specialised golfing vacations or holidays worldwide. This demand for travel which is centered around golf has lead to the development of many luxury resorts which cater to golfers and feature integrated golf courses.