Dec 11 Golftop10
Last updated:
Golf is the seventh most popular sporting activity in England, according to a recent survey.
Sport England’s Active People study is the largest of its kind ever undertaken in Europe, questioning 363, 724 people aged 16 and over from across the country about their exercising habits over the period of a month.
Golf participation came in at 1.4 million, just above badminton (900,000) and tennis (874,000).
The survey revealed the main statistics for each of England’s nine regions. The south east came in as the most popular golfing region with 4.5% participation, while London residents had the lowest with just 2.4% residents playing golf.
It also highlighted gender differences in the sport with more men (6%) playing golf than women (0.9%).
However, golf still falls way behind the most popular recreational activity on the list – walking – with a massive 20% of the population regularly taking a stroll.
The top 10: % (no.) adult pop. taking part at least once a month
1. Recreational walking 20.0 (8,142,693)
2. Swimming 13.8 (5,625,539)
3. Gym 11.6 (4,722,762)
4. Recreational cycling 7.8 (3,175,650)
5. Football 7.1 (2,910,684)
6. Running/jogging 4.6 (1,872,819)
7. Golf/Pitch and putt 3.6 (1,457,347)
8. Badminton 2.2 (900,332)
9. Tennis 2.1 (874,040)
10. Aerobics 1.5 (608,671)
