A new national study released this week gives the clearest read yet on how golfers are approaching travel heading into 2026 — and the headline is good news wrapped around a warning.
The 2025 Buffalo Groupe Golf Travel Study, conducted in December 2025, finds that nearly 9 in 10 U.S. golfers plan to spend the same amount or more on golf travel in 2026 as they did the year before. Half of golfers surveyed maintain annual golf travel budgets of $5,000 or more — a level of committed spend that puts golf squarely among the more serious travel categories, not an occasional indulgence.
“Golf travel demand remains strong, but today’s golfer is making more thoughtful decisions,” said Buffalo Groupe CEO Kyle Ragsdale. “We’re seeing sustained spending paired with higher expectations around value, ease, and overall experience.”
The Confidence Is Real
Part of what’s fueling continued spend is broader economic sentiment: 71% of golfers in the study report feeling optimistic or confident about the U.S. economy, which is translating directly into continued golf travel intent even amid the usual noise around cost of living and broader economic uncertainty.
But Patience for Nonsense Is Thin
Here’s the part destinations and resorts should pay closest attention to: golfers are increasingly sensitive to perceived value, and hidden fees and misaligned pricing are showing up as real deterrents. A golfer willing to spend $5,000 a year on golf travel is not a golfer who’s indifferent to how that money gets spent — they’re evaluating trips the way any experienced traveler evaluates a hotel booking riddled with resort fees and surprise add-ons.
The study also reaffirms the Southeast’s continued dominance as the top domestic golf travel destination in the U.S. — no surprise to anyone who’s watched course development and resort investment concentrate along the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida in recent years, but a useful data point for any destination competing for a slice of that spend.
Why This Matters
Budgets are healthy. Intent is high. But golfers are shopping smarter than they were a few years ago, and the destinations that win their business in 2026 will be the ones that are transparent about pricing and deliver an experience that actually matches what’s been promised. Spend is not the constraint this year — trust is
