In announcing the 9-hole challenge set for the Friday before the 150th Open at St Andrews, the R&A also shared 9-hole round data worth noting.
It could be entirely pandemic related, with more employed golfers working from home and getting in an early or late nine. But there are plenty of reasons to believe the increase can also be tied to various worldwide campaigns designed to legitimize 9-hole rounds and encourage golfers to turn in non-18-hole scores for handicapping purposes.
The numbers of note from the R&A’s story to launch the 9-hole challenge:
• In Australia, nine-hole round data has experienced 20% growth with more than 517,000 rounds played in 2020-21.
• In England, nine-hole rounds played for handicap purposes increased from 175,000 in 2019 to 407,000 in 2021.