The golf operation market - Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

A golf course can be considered as a company and, as such, it gathers jobs of personnel management, administrative, financial, commercial, teaching and sports animation and maintenance of the course itself. Therefore, running a golf course is very specific and. As we will see in the course of this study, this job requires knowledge of the golf world and advanced management skills in order to achieve a practical balance between the various constraints. The golf operation channel can be segmented by price of the services, demographics, sales channel, and geographical region. 

The global golf operation market size was valued at $3.66 billion in 2019, and it is expected to expand at a CAGR of 2.5% from 2020 to 2027.

The global market for golf operation is mainly driven by the growing popularity and adoption of golf as an active sport, as well as by the fact that many hotels and resorts around the world are incorporating golf as one of the sporting activities they provide in their hospitality facilities. Even in Italy, this is a common trend premium hotels are adopting. For instance, in Sicily there are two huge resorts which are provided with golf courts and offer courses, one belonging to the Spanish chain NH Hotels and the other being the Forte Village Resort.

Despite these initiatives, the proliferation of golf operations across the country is still growing at a slow pace, and there is still lot to do to promote the offer of such services. However, the Italian market for golf operations presents incredibly positive growing margins when compared to other countries as Spain and Portugal, where such market is already consolidated. Moreover, golf operations can also be used as a catalyst to develop even the hospitality and touristic industry, given their high correlation with resorts and other premium facilities. In fact, it is estimated that, for each golf court in Italy, there is a touristic flux of more than 2,000 people, occupying almost 850 residential units.