There’s been a significant increase in the number of players enjoying golf according to Sports Marketing Surveys. The key findings from their research showed that adult golfers on a full course increased by 3.1 million in 2020 – the highest increase this century.

New research commissioned by The R&A has found that the number of people in Great Britain who have played golf on a full-length course in the last year has surged to 5.2 million.

The extraordinary rise is by more than two million people since the pandemic began, and the figure of 5.2 million is the highest recorded this century.

Its ‘2020 Great Britain Golf Participation Report’ finds that 36 percent of these 5.2 million golfers were returning or new players – with 16 percent saying they were trying golf for the first time because of the pandemic. That figure rises to 25 percent for female golfers only.

The average age of golfers fell by five years to 41, with the majority of new golfers aged under 55.

Whilst this increase in participation is great for golfers and golf clubs alike, with more people out playing, it does pose the question about whether there’s more risk of injury or damage from stray balls?

Added to this, is the cost of golfing itself and the golf equipment. In September 2020, further research suggested that only 24% of regular golfers would consider golf insurance!

Alex Kotlarzewski, Golfplan’s very own Golf Pro comments “There are a number misconceptions about whether people feel they need specialist golf insurance. For example, many people think their golf equipment would be covered under their home insurance. However, home insurance policies only tend to cover golf equipment outside of the home when not in use. So, when you’re out on fairways, you won’t be covered. And if you leave them in your car and they get stolen, you may only be covered for up to £500. So it’s always worth looking at specialist golf cover”

Having worked at Golfplan for a number of years and being a Golf Pro himself, Alex has also seen the price of golf equipment increase over the past few years. He adds “The average electric trolly used to cost £300, but now you’d be looking at around the £500 mark. And you used to be able to pick up a decent golf club driver for £250-£300, but now they’re around £450. A new set of irons can cost £1,000. So if you’ve not bought any new kit lately, and it gets damaged or stolen, you’d should be thinking about how much it would cost you to replace.”

There are other advantages to ensuring you’ve got specialist golf cover – most policies will cover you if you get a hole-in-one and need to pay the bar bill at the end of the round, to something more serious like public liability if a stray ball causes injury or damage to someone or their property. And you need to think about injury to yourself. Again, most specialist golf insurance will offer Personal Injury cover if you find yourself in an accident.

There are other advantages to ensuring you’ve got specialist golf cover – most policies will cover you if you get a hole-in-one and need to pay the bar bill at the end of the round, to something more serious like public liability if a stray ball causes injury or damage to someone or their property.

And you need to think about injury to yourself. Again, most specialist golf insurance providers will offer Personal Injury cover. Added to this, Membership Fees cover will reimburse you for the time you have been unable to play through injury or accident.