Victoria Golf Club in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. (image: Victoria Golf Club)
SEOUL, June 15 (Korea Bizwire) – The worldwide spread of the coronavirus is accelerating the rise of so-called ‘untact’ culture across various fields of society.
The number of people visiting no-caddie golf courses in South Korea has surged in recent months, compared to the same period last year.
XGOLF, a golf course reservation platform, reported that the number of reservations for three no-caddie golf courses jumped from 709 cases in the March to May period last year to 1,090 cases in the same period this year, a surge of 53.7 percent.
Other XGOLF-affiliated golf courses across 300 locations nationwide, in contrast, saw the number of reservations rise from 119,841 cases in the March to May period last year to 133,088 cases in the same period this year, jumping by a moderate 11.1 percent.
This shows that the surge in the number of visitors at domestic golf courses, after access to overseas golf courses disappeared due to the coronavirus, benefitted golf course businesses overall, and particularly so for the ones without caddie services.
Experts explain that the younger generation of golfers, who first took interest in the sport through “screen golfing,” a virtual reality golf simulation game, tend to prefer no-caddie golf courses, which are also cheaper than other courses.
The Korea Leisure Industry Institute reported that the number of golf courses offering selective caddie services jumped from 94 last year to 121 as of April this year, doubling since 2016 (66 courses).
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
