Nearly 600,000 Registered Golfers and nearly 800 Golf Clubs in Germany : Source - DGV (German Golf Association)

Although some persons still continue to view golf as an "elitist" sport, especially in Germany, golf has grown dramatically in recent decades as a sport suitable for "everyman", so that the Deutscher Golf Verband (DGV, the German Golf Association at golf.de) grew 4.2% last year to a total of nearly 600,000 (exactly 599.328).

That kind of typically German accuracy in numbers is made possible by the fact that all members of all golf clubs in Germany are registed with the DGV and pay golf dues. Here is the DGV growth development by year, number of golf clubs and number of registered golfers:

Year...Number of Golf Clubs...Number of Golfers
(footnotes excluded - see the original list for those)

1907............8..........-
1914..........16..........-
1918..........10..........-
1922..........14..........-
1923..........18..........-
1924..........19..........-
1925..........21..........-
1926..........23..........-
1927..........23..........-
1928..........27..........-
1930..........35..........-
1931..........38..........-
1932..........45..........-
1933..........46..........-
1934..........54..........-
1935..........54..........-
1936..........56..........-
1937..........55..........-
1938..........55..........-
1939..........62..........-
1942..........56..........-
1946..........22..........-
1948..........30..........-
1949..........34..........-
1951..........39................2,700
1952..........38................3,400
1953..........41................4,000
1954..........41................4,100
1955..........47................5,000
1956..........50................5,500
1957..........51................6,300
1958..........54................7,000
1959..........58................7,800
1960..........62................9,200
1961..........65..............10,400
1962..........73..............11,200
1963..........74..............12,400
1964..........77..............13,500
1965..........84..............16,200
1966..........88..............17,300
1967..........88..............18,400
1968..........89..............19,200
1969..........97..............19,400
1970..........100............21,000
1971..........107............23,300
1972..........111............24,700
1973..........123............27,100
1974..........130............29,300
1975..........137............32,500
1976..........142....... ....36,382
1977..........148............39,172
1978..........153............42,301
1979..........155............46,161
1980..........160............49,211
1981..........167............52,222
1982..........180............56,889
1983..........197............62,917
1984..........206......... ..67,332
1985..........214............71,862
1986..........229............84,824
1987..........238............95,863
1988..........260..........109,207
1989..........293..........124,209
1990..........313..........141,885
1991..........336..........163,130
1992..........380..........184,713
1993..........407..........206,546
1994..........437..........225,001
1995..........472..........252,559
1996..........504..........272,830
1997..........546..........296,370
1998..........575..........318,284
1999..........601..........345,206
2000..........621..........370,490
2001..........642..........399,016
2002..........653..........428,076
2003..........670..........457,237
2004..........692..........483,172
2005..........712..........506,746
2006..........736..........527,427
2007..........748..........552,388
2008..........769..........575,176
2009..........782..........599,328