Is Washington Really The Worst State For Golf Retirees?

Washington Named Worst State For Golfers To Retire

A recent analysis looks at which state is the worst for retired golfers and Washington tops the list!

Living in North Central Washington where we have outstanding public courses, that ranking certainly caught my eye.

A further look and it becomes apparent as to why living east of he Cascades could skew our perspective.

First some background from the National Golf Foundation.

45 million Americans played golf in 2023 — a nearly four million increase from from 2022.

Golfers in the age group that log the most hours on the course are between 60-69. Over the next decade, senior participation is expected to grow from about 3 ½ million golfers today to approximately five million.

Here are the Bottom Ten States for Golfing Retirees

The study ranked Washington poorly for a limited number of courses per capita at (0.49 per 100,000 people) and the number sunny days (58) annually.

These factors contributed to Washington's ranking as the worst state for golf retirees. Washington also was near the bottom the home value ranking.

I have to believe the real estate values statewide but more heavily skewed by Western Washington and clearly the weather in the Puget Sound region where more golfers live and play were the distortions that landed the Evergreen state at the top or really the bottom of this list.

Other than the actual number of courses statewide, ff the stats were weighted somehow to reflect the 300 plus days of sunshine golfers enjoy in Eastern Washington and draw it has on golfing retirees to live or vacation on this side of the mountains, the rankings would have looked differently.

While still high in popular recreation areas of Eastern Washington, property values here are typically lower so the overall home value score is an average but a median price might have been more accurate when those ultra-luxury homes in Seattle are excluded. Some of the most expensive real estate in the U.S. can be found in Washington.

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Here are the Top Ten States for Golfing Retirees

The findings say Nebraska is the top state for golf retirees. Everything is affordable in the Cornhusker State, particularly the green fees, the third cheapest across the nation.

Iowa has the highest number of golf courses per capita (12.4 golf courses per 100,000 residents) across all states.

Arkansas is in 3rd place, with the best score for home value and some of the most affordable housing in the country based on median home value.

To read more on the study from Gambling.com