Is 9-Hole Golf Becoming The New Normal? USGA Data Suggests A Shift

I’m a nine-holer.

Not because I can’t play 18. Not because I don’t want to. As a former college player and professional, I’ve played plenty of 36- and even 45-hole days.

But right now, nine holes just works.

We sneak in nine as many times a week as we can between work, school and everything else that fills a schedule. My kids are nine and 11, which makes nine holes a better fit for everyone. Some days it’s a two-person scramble. Other days, we all play our own ball. Late in the day, nine holes is fast, usually about an hour and a half, and it doesn’t feel like an event you have to plan around.

So when I saw the latest participation data from the USGA, I wasn’t surprised that golfers are choosing nine holes more often than they used to.

Nine-hole rounds are taking a bigger share

In 2025, U.S. golfers posted 82.25 million total scores, the highest total on record. Of those, 18.2 percent were nine-hole scores, up from 13.7 percent in 2020.

That total represents a 709,000-increase year over year, 5.0-percent growth from 2024, for nine-hole rounds. Let’s not forget these stats are just from golfers who have an established USGA handicap index and are supposed to be posting every round. My gut (and golf’s growing popularity) tells me there are plenty more nine-hole rounds not being posted.

Who’s playing nine holes?

Women are leading the shift toward nine-hole golf. New golfers are also supporting the trend.

In 2025, 30.3 percent of all scores posted by female golfers were nine-hole rounds, up 5.3 percentage points since 2020. For male golfers, 16.1 percent of scores were nine-hole rounds, up 4.6 points over the same period.

New golfers lean even more toward nine holes. For first-time female golfers, more than half of all scores were nine-hole rounds. For first-time male golfers, that figure was closer to 27 percent.

Are 18-hole golfers are switching to 9?

This is a fair question. Are golfers who have always played 18 cutting it down to nine?

What the data can say is this: total scores are rising while nine-hole scores are rising faster as a share of all scores. That combination suggests the growth in nine-hole play is not simply replacing 18-hole rounds across the board.

The way I see it is that nine holes appears to be expanding the ways golfers fit the game into their lives rather than signaling a full move away from 18-hole golf.

My take: Nine is just fine

I still believe 18 holes is better for performance. If you’re focused on scoring, tournament prep or long-term development, a full round matters. There are plenty of times I finish a nine-hole round and wish I could make the turn to see what would happen or to clean up a mess.

But nine holes turns golf from an event into an option. It fits into real schedules. It works for families. It works for beginners. It works when you want to play without committing your entire day.

Right now, nine holes is what keeps golf a constant in my week. And, based on the USGA data, more golfers are finding ways to make nine holes part of how they play.

Are you a nine-holer, too? Why?