The 2021 PDGA Year End Demographics Report
The 2021 PDGA Year End Demographics Report
Learning the “Whos” and “Wheres” of Obvious Growth
Surge. Proliferation. Aggrandizement.
Somebody needed to crack a thesaurus to find alternate words for “growth,” since, when it comes to disc golf, that seems to be the default descriptor over the past two years.
At this point, one would be hard-pressed to find a podcast, article or interview that doesn’t bring up the growth of the game. It certainly is impossible to understate or ignore.
The 2021 PDGA Year End Demographic Report has dropped (you can download a printer-friendly version of the full demographics at the link).
Who is Joining the PDGA?
In short, 44,420 people joined the PDGA, with another 65,442 renewing an existing membership in 2021.
Junior membership and female membership each grew by close to 75 percent year-over-year.
Disc golf has always been a game “for life.” Not surprisingly, every measured age range experienced a year-over-year increase in membership, with growth rates ranging from 37 to 91 percent.
Of note, the most significant growth rates in membership by age are occurring in the youngest – below age 25 – or oldest – above age 75 – age brackets.
Where do PDGA Members Live and Play?
Globally, each “continental” region of the world increased, with Canada and Latin America outpacing the United States’ rapid growth rate. The greatest overall membership population remains in the U.S., followed by Europe.
Those venturing out to their local courses have seen significantly more crowded conditions – a good problem to have, but one that must be addressed. Thankfully, course numbers are trending upward, as are event counts.
Top 10s
Everybody loves top 10 lists. Does your locale make the leaderboard?
PDGA USA
Top 10 States by Membership
| # | State | Members |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 7,145 |
| 2 | California | 6,095 |
| 3 | Michigan | 4,633 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 4,412 |
| 5 | Florida | 3,828 |
| 6 | Ohio | 3,514 |
| 7 | Illinois | 3,195 |
| 8 | Colorado | 2,922 |
| 9 | Georgia | 2,874 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 2,798 |
Top 3 States by Courses
| # | State | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 528 |
| 2 | California | 378 |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 371 |
Top 3 States by Events
| # | State | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 485 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 329 |
| 3 | Michigan | 282 |
PDGA Europe
Top 10 Countries by Membership
| # | Country | Members |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 4,310 |
| 2 | Sweden | 3,865 |
| 3 | Norway | 2,226 |
| 4 | Estonia | 1,253 |
| 5 | Denmark | 952 |
| 6 | Germany | 658 |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 582 |
| 8 | France | 426 |
| 9 | Austria | 365 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 351 |
Top 3 Countries by Courses
| # | Country | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 726 |
| 2 | Sweden | 244 |
| 3 | Estonia | 150 |
Top 3 Countries by Events
| # | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 257 |
| 2 | Sweden | 245 |
| 3 | Norway | 111 |
PDGA Africa, Asia, Oceania, Other
Top 10 Countries by Membership
| # | Country | Members |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 613 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 490 |
| 3 | Japan | 128 |
| 4 | China and Hong Kong | 48 |
| 5 | Singapore | 35 |
| 6 | Malaysia | 33 |
| 7 | Zambia | 25 |
| 8 | Thailand | 22 |
| 9 | South Korea | 16 |
| 10 | Taiwan | 10 |
Top 3 Countries by Courses
| # | Country | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 99 |
| 2 | Japan | 78 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 43 |
Top 3 Countries by Events
| # | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 60 |
| 2 | New Zealand | 33 |
| 3 | Japan | 6 |
PDGA Latin America & Caribbean
Top 5 Countries by Membership
| # | Country | Members |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 50 |
| 2 | Colombia | 21 |
| 3 | Belize | 17 |
| 4 | Brazil | 6 |
| 5 | Puerto Rico | 6 |
Top Country by Courses
| # | Country | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 9 |
Top Country by Events
| # | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belize | 7 |
Canada
Top 5 Provinces by Membership
| # | Country | Members |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ontario | 1210 |
| 2 | British Colombia | 806 |
| 3 | Alberta | 659 |
| 4 | Quebec | 246 |
| 5 | Saskatchewan | 168 |
Top Province by Courses
| # | Country | Courses |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ontario | 91 |
Top Province by Events
| # | Country | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ontario | 57 |
Comments
If you want to see how the
If you want to see how the larger world views disc golf, there is no better example than this recent article from the Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-business-challenge-can-be-told-in-two-words-disc-golf-11648215832?st=te38ebvahgmm9ln&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink