There has been no shortage of golfers on Lincoln’s five courses in 2023. Lincoln Parks and Recreation says patronage of City golf courses has increased for the fourth consecutive fiscal year. Lincoln golfers played 220,117 rounds in 2023, an increase of 5.6% from 2022, which is the highest number of golf rounds for Lincoln City Golf since 1999.
“It is awesome to see so many golfers enjoying the Lincoln City Golf Courses and to have the highest number of golf rounds played in the last 24 years,” says Wade Foreman, Golf Business Coordinator. “We have seen a consistent trend of increasing golf rounds since 2015. The golf turf superintendents, golf professionals, and their staff do a tremendous job of running the courses.”
This is the third consecutive year golfers have played more than 200,000 rounds. Holmes Park golf course continued to be the most popular location, with 48,472 rounds played. The 5.6% increase by Lincoln golfers also surpassed the 4.6% average increase from 2022 for public access courses nationally, according to Golf DataTech.
Foreman said the lack of rainfall in 2023 allowed for about two more weeks of playable days than in 2022 during the peak season of May through September. Foreman also attributed part of the courses’ success to new software that allows golf patrons to book tee times and purchase gift cards online more easily. The new ForeUp system, in use since February, has enhanced the customer experience and has tracked tee time bookings by golfers from 43 states and Canada, he said.
Golfers also hit almost 5.3 million range balls this year, which is equivalent to 10 golf balls being hit every minute of the year on average.