Golf is a game of numbers, and the USGA has plenty of those to offer. The governing body this week posted its 2025 Golf Scorecard, which tracks all kinds of information about how many people are posting scores in the U.S. with the World Handicap System. It’s full of data that shows the tremendous growth in the game since the start of Covid, and it’s always interesting to see how we all measure up.
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Check out a selection of information from the Scorecard below, and click here to see even more data in easy-to-digest graphical form. Worth keeping in mind: The data doesn’t include all golfers, just those who maintain a handicap index as part of the World Handicap System.
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3.68 million golfers maintained a handicap index in 2025, up 8.2 percent from 2024. That included 3.03 million males and 650,000 females. That combined total was up 1.01 million males and 162,000 females over 2020.
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A record 82.25 million scores were posted in 2025. That included 69.96 million (85.1%) for males and 12.29 million (14.9%) for females.
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The average male handicap was 14.0, and the average female handicap was 28.8.
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Males averaged 23 scores posted, and females averaged 19 scores posted.
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For those playing the most rounds: 1.42 million players with a handicap index played 20 or more rounds, 511,600 played more than 50 rounds, 226,500 played more than 75 rounds and 99,900 played more than 100 rounds.
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537,000 players established a handicap index for the first time (447,000 males, 90,000 females). Their average handicap indexes were higher (16.3 for males, 32.5 for females) than average for both sexes.
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Arkansas had the lowest male average handicap index (10.6) followed by Mississippi (10.7) and Oklahoma (11.1). Mississippi had the lowest female average (22.0) followed by Arkansas (23.6) and Hawaii (23.8).
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Florida’s golfers posted more scores (11,427,566) than any other state, followed by California (9,092,772) and Texas (4,158,193). That included nine-hole and 18-hole scores.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: USGA releases 2025 Golf Scorecard for players with handicap indexes
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