Prepared for: United States Golf Association Prepared by: National Golf Foundation Date: January 2026
Over the past 16 years, USGA and NGF have partnered on 10 research projects spanning member research, participation studies, demographic analysis, handicap profiling, and brand equity tracking. This document provides a complete inventory of that work.
The relationship has evolved from periodic project work (2009-2017) to a robust brand equity tracking program now in its third year. Recent engagement has accelerated significantly, with 5 projects completed in 2024-2025 alone.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Partnership Duration | 16 years (2009-2025) |
| Total Projects | 10 |
| Recent Projects (2024-2025) | 5 |
| Brand Equity Tracking | Bi-annual program (2024-2025) |
| Most Recent Project | 2025 Brand Equity Study |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA 2025 Brand Equity Study (R25009) - Spring & Fall Waves | 2025 |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA 2024 Brand Equity Study Wave 1 (R24006) | 2024 |
| USGA Handicap Segment Profiling (R24007) | 2024 |
| USGA 2024 Brand Equity Study Wave 2 (R24017) | 2024 |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA Trends in 25-40 Age Cohort (R22221) | 2022 |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA Weather Monitoring (R21719) | 2017 |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA 9-Hole Golf (R21409) | 2014 |
| USGA Data Facility Collection (R21421) | 2014 |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA Member Research (R21217) | 2012 |
| Project Name | Year |
|---|---|
| USGA Benefit Research (R29013) | 2009 |
This archive spans several distinct research domains:
| Research Category | Project Count | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Equity Tracking | 4 | 2024 W1/W2, 2025 Spring/Fall |
| Member/Consumer Research | 2 | Benefit research, member analytics |
| Demographic/Trend Analysis | 1 | 25-40 age cohort trends |
| Handicap System Research | 1 | Handicap segment profiling |
| Participation/Format Research | 1 | 9-hole golf study |
| Facility/Industry Data | 2 | Weather monitoring, facility data collection |
The brand equity tracking program represents a significant investment in understanding USGA's market position:
| Wave | Year | Key Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 Wave 1 | 2024 | Full brand equity study, executive summary, brand equity maps |
| 2024 Wave 2 | 2024 | Data trends summary, longitudinal analysis |
| 2025 Spring | 2025 | Spring results, methodology continuation |
| 2025 Fall | 2025 | Fall wave results, year-over-year comparison |
Note: The bi-annual tracking provides seasonal insights into brand perception, capturing both spring (beginning of season) and fall (end of season) perspectives.
Based on 10 documented projects, research approach by primary category:
| Method | Projects | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Brand Equity Tracking (Survey) | 3 | ~30% |
| Member/Consumer Research (Survey) | 2 | ~20% |
| Facility/Industry Data Collection | 2 | ~20% |
| Demographic/Trend Analysis | 1 | ~10% |
| Participation/Format Research | 1 | ~10% |
| Handicap System Research | 1 | ~10% |
Source: R_DRIVE_USGA_AUDIT.md (2026-01-07)
2009 |====| Benefit Research
2010 | |
2011 | |
2012 |====| Member Research
2013 | |
2014 |====| 9-Hole Golf + Facility Collection
2015 | |
2016 | |
2017 |====| Weather Monitoring
2018 | | (gap)
2019 | | (gap)
2020 | | (gap)
2021 | | (gap)
2022 |====| 25-40 Age Cohort Trends
2023 | |
2024 |====| Brand Equity W1 + Handicap Profiling + Brand Equity W2
2025 |====| Brand Equity Tracker (Spring + Fall)
All of these studies are archived and available. If you'd like to:
Just let us know which studies interest you, and we'll retrieve them from our archives.
Drew Collar Project Manager, NGF Research dcollar@ngf.org
Reid Gorman SVP Business Intelligence & Operations rgorman@ngf.org
Prepared by the National Golf Foundation January 2026