How many golf courses does the average golfer play in their life?

There are so many attributes that combine to make golf the most special and consistently rewarding of sports to play, but chief among them is the fact that every course you experience is different and has its own unique characteristics - good or bad - that make it a true individual.

Around the world, there is estimated to be somewhere in the region of 39,000 golf courses, which, if you ticked one off every day, it would you take over 100 years to visit them all. Therefore, if you're the ultimate completest, much like achieving perfection in the game itself, that ambition will unfortunately remain beyond your grasp.

However, this got us thinking about the number of courses that average golfers have played and can anticipate to play during their lifetimes.

Have You Played More Courses Than These Golfers?

We have to first point out the extreme cases. Author and photographer Kevin Markham has played every layout within the island of Ireland (and written about it), while there are golfers in Scotland who are determined to take on each venue in the spiritual home of golf, which is somewhere around 560, although no one has ever seemed to give a definitive total for that.

You have stamp collectors, book collectors, coin collectors, postcard collectors, and all manner of similar hobbies that consume people, and that applies to golf too. 

(The Old Course at St Andrews)

Eric Rubin, a retired insurance executive from Wake Forest, North Carolina, is a remarkable example of course collecting. 

Forbes has written that the 66-year-old has played a staggering 2,685 different golf courses across all 50 states and 18 other countries in a journey that began three decades ago.

Now, we obviously don't think that's a realistic target for anyone to aim for, but this mindset is more common than you may believe, as there are a considerable number of keen golfers who try and tick off a list of courses based on rankings or geographical locations, which can be an expensive adventure, but there is no question that it's a satisfying lifetime ambition.

There will also be some of you who have rarely - if ever - travelled to play golf and your experience is confined to a limited group of courses in your local area, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. 

Do You Want to Keep Track of Golf Courses You've Played?

But the questions we have been asking lately are how many golf courses have you played and how many should you aim to play over your life spent in the game?

Unless you've been keeping a record, it can be hard to count them all, as some places are undeniably less memorable than others, but these days it's easier to know than ever before thanks to the new Golfshake App and our WhereIPlayGolf service that allows you to track the courses you have played and to even set yourself bucket lists of venues that you most desire to sample one day.

(The Golfshake App)

Our Ambassadors certainly qualify as keen golfers and they have managed to play an impressive variety of courses. Matt Holbrook has tracked 170 courses, Mel Davies has 93 under his belt, while Andy Picken is way ahead of the pack with a stunning 258 across nine countries. 

Golfshake's Travel Editor, Andy Waple is slightly behind on the number of courses (231), but he's struck a golf ball in 19 different countries throughout the planet.

You can even see how you compare to them and other golfers by keeping an eye on our leaderboard, where one user stands at the summit with a mind-blowing 932.

How Many Golf Courses Should Average Golfers Have Played?

Looking for a wider spectrum of golfers to analyse, we ran a social media poll that revealed a whopping 41.9% of you had played over 100 courses.

On Facebook, Dave Thomas downplayed his number when he said: "Just a lightweight I'm afraid - 435." Timothy Hawkins commented: "172, only in England, Wales, Scotland, France and Portugal." Paul Smith revealed that he had "600 ball markers from different courses," while Mark Shepherd "bagged (his) 100th course during 2025."

(Golfshake Survey Results)

Branching out further, we surveyed hundreds of keen golfers, which uncovered that 35% of players had ticked off a minimum of 100 courses, which demonstrates that those who have reached that milestone are ahead of the majority.

22% had played between 20 and 40, with 7% having experienced fewer than 20 individual golf courses. However, at the other end of the scale, 7% were between 200-300 and 9% had recorded a staggering 300+ layouts played during their life thus far.

(More Golfshake Survey Results)

In terms of future ambitions, 50% of golfers who responded to us declared that they hoped to play a minimum of 100 courses, with a further 24% being happy to reach a total between 60 and 100.

Looking at the statistics and what we've seen elsewhere, 100 appears to be a sweet spot for golfers, but doubling or even trebling that is a significant marker that continues to drive many of you on.

Ultimately, this is a personal thing, and you may not be someone who is particularly ambitious when it comes to collecting golf courses, but if you are a golfer who cherishes the opportunity to discover a vast range of designs and experiences, there is a whole, magical golfing world out there just waiting for you.