​​Golf has long carried a reputation as an exclusive pastime, associated with business deals, retirement hobbies, and a predominantly older, often male demographic. But between 2003 and 2018, the sport saw a major decline in participation—losing 6.8 million players and over 1,200 courses, according to the National Recreation and Park Association.
In recent years, though, golf has been getting a glow-up—driven partially by the broader, more diverse audience that’s been picking up clubs. Particularly during the pandemic, as indoor activities and social events were limited, golf was often seen as a safe, socially distanced outdoor activity.
And it’s a trend that has continued post-pandemic; according to the National Golf Foundation, a record number of people played on a golf course for the first time in 2023—and the sport’s highest level of participation is currently among young adults, aged 18-34. An even more telling stat? Among players under 18, 37% are now female, up from just 15% in 2000. 
In 2024, Omni Hotels & Resorts kicked off a family-focused event series called the Generation Cup. Described as a “yearlong celebration of golf, family, and competition,” the tournament comprised qualifying events that took place at 12 different Omni golf resorts across the country. See more: Why This Hotel Brand Decided to Host a Yearlong Golf TournamentPhoto: Courtesy of Omni Hotels & Resorts
Major brands seem to be taking notice—including Dewar’s Scotch Whisky, whose North American VP Brian Cox believes golf’s conservative reputation has long been a thing of the past. “It is certainly a fact that golf is a slightly more affluent sport than many others—but older, whatever that definition may be, is probably a POV held by those who have not recently set foot on a golf course,” he argues, also crediting entertainment-focused venues like Topgolf and Five Iron, along with a rise in popular golf-centric video games like PGA TOUR 2K, with helping reframe the narrative surrounding the sport.
Cox also calls out the rising popularity of creators like Roger Steele—whose content focuses on challenging stereotypes and encouraging more people to see themselves as part of the sport—as well as the influx of fashion and luxury brands like Loro Piana, Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, Boss, Lululemon, and Tumi, all of whom who have recently launched or enhanced their golf clothing and apparel lines.
“This all reflects the place golf now holds in culture due to the number of people in the U.S. who play or follow golf, which has grown from some 24 million to over 40 million people since 2019—now ranking ahead of tennis, wrestling, and auto racing,” Cox points out. "Globally the number is around 450 million; slightly below baseball and American football, but slightly above the number that follow the leading motor sports tour and martial arts."
For a brand like Dewar’s, which has deep Scottish roots just like the sport itself, an investment in golf-related events has felt both organic and strategic. “Golf is eminently social and convivial, like Dewar’s,” says Cox. “While rooted in in heritage and tradition, both are also resolutely contemporary in embracing technology and performance—making them both an art form and a science. Furthermore both have substance and depth but are also ultimately first and foremost about enjoyment, relaxation, and bringing people together.”
Dewar’s has leaned into this alignment through a range of thoughtful, culturally relevant activations in partnership with the United States Golf Association and the U.S. Open. This year, for example, the brand is marking the 125th U.S. Open tournament, taking place next week at Oakmont Country Club, with a special-edition, 19-year-old Champions Edition Scotch—finished in Calvados apple brandy casks as a nod to Pennsylvania’s apple brandy legacy. “It’s a collector’s bottle that celebrates the shared legacy, precision, and craftsmanship of both whisky and golf,” he says.
The brand also recently collaborated with two-Michelin-star chef Gabriel Kreuther to create bespoke whisky-infused golf ball chocolates. And then there’s the Dewar’s Lemon Wedge, the signature cocktail of the U.S. Open—made with Dewar’s lemonade, and club soda. It’s become a fan favorite, available both fresh and in ready-to-drink form at the tournament. "It's shifting perceptions of what Scotch whisky can be," says Cox. 
“The Lemon Wedge has become a game changer,” says Cox. “Each year, we’ve seen consistent growth in its popularity, and over the past five years alone, more than 87,000 Lemon Wedges have been enjoyed by tournament attendees.”Photo: Courtesy of Dewar's
For Dewar’s, this momentum is about reaching a bigger, lifestyle-driven audience—regardless of gender, ethnicity, or geographic location. “We don’t seek to appeal to a younger crowd but a broader adult crowd,” Cox says. "Our traditions are very important in making our whisky. But when it comes to enjoying our Dewar’s there are no set 'rules'; the best way to drink and savor the taste is the way you as an individual best enjoy, and that often changes with time of day, occasion, and location."
He adds, "Golf is a pillar of Dewar’s Scotch Whisky activations, and we will continue to remain in the space.”
Many other brands are also finding fresh ways to appeal to this new wave of golf fans. Experiences at this year’s Players Championship in March, for example, included innovative brand activations and partnerships with youth-friendly sponsors like YouTube and Roblox.
One standout example? The PGA Tour launched a new experience on Roblox called the Ultimate Golf Simulator. Developed in partnership with PING and First Tee, the experience allows Roblox users to test their golf skills by trying to make as many holes-in-one as possible in order to earn in-game wearables and custom items from creators like Bob Does Sports. 
“With the popularity of golf and its growing appeal among young players, it’s important for PING to connect with this audience and present the game’s tremendous appeal to future generations,” notes PING CEO and president John K. Solheim. See more: See How These Fan Experiences at The Players Championship Engaged a New Generation of GolfersPhoto: Courtesy of Roblox
Morgan Stanley’s Players Championship activation, meanwhile, also leaned into cutting-edge tech with the AI Course Setup Tool Presented by Morgan Stanley, a new app that provided data to help set the course for competition each day. It leveraged AI to determine tee and hole locations based on simulated results including expected scoring, driving distance, rough penalty, and more.
Morgan Stanley has intentionally been focusing its golf-centric activations on reaching both old and new fans of the sport. “[In 2023], we launched a new brand campaign called 'Old School Grit. New World Ideas,' which was all about the legacy and history of the firm combined with innovation and technology that Morgan Stanley had gained through [recent] acquisitions,” explained former Morgan Stanley chief marketing officer Alice Milligan in a 2024 interview. "Balancing history and legacy with vision and innovation is important to us.” 
Morgan Stanley is also investing in in the nonprofit First Tee, which is dedicated to making golf accessible to underserved communities. “If you empower people, if they see coaches that look like them, it opens up the world of golf to a whole new generation of people—like the 800,000-plus American women who took up the game between 2020 and 2022,” says Milligan.Photo: Courtesy of Morgan Stanley
And at the 2025 Masters Tournament in April, there was the debut of “Augusta After Dark.” Born out of a partnership between DraftKings and Sports Illustrated (SI), Augusta After Dark invited 500 of DraftKings’ Dynasty Rewards members and select VIPs to a private estate that, according to organizers, blended “old-school golf prestige with modern luxury”—think photo moments, espresso bars, a claw machine activation, and even a performance by Dave Matthews. 
Notably, the brands chose to host the event during the Masters, which is notorious for its strict rules surrounding dress codes, cellphone use, and more, all designed to preserve decades-old traditions. On-site staffers were decked out from head to toe in a “golf chic” outfit consisting of Authentic’s own portfolio of brands, including Reebok, Nautica, IZOD, and Lucky Brand. See more: See Inside Augusta After Dark—The Masters' Boldest Break From Tradition YetPhoto: Courtesy Acre Media for Authentic/SI
“It felt like the right moment to debut something fresh and premium during one of the most tradition-rich weeks in sports,” says Emily Powers, the vice president of business operations and production at SI owner Authentic Brands Group. “Augusta After Dark wasn’t just a party; it was a statement. It showed how brands like SI and DraftKings can honor tradition while still pushing boundaries.”
It's clear that golf’s appeal today isn’t just about tradition—it’s about evolution. And that's never more apparent than with TGL, the buzzy new tech-forward team golf league from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and their partnership with the PGA Tour. The league aims to package the best of standard golf with an arena-style entertainment experience, while condensing the start-to-finish times to just two hours in front of a live audience. 
Innovative tech touches at TGL games include a massive simulator screen and a green with an undulating, adaptable surface to create hole variations. See more: Behind the Scenes of a TGL Match—and Why Its Fans Might Have the Best Seats in GolfPhoto: Courtesy of TGL presented by SoFi
The league has already excelled at bringing in a younger audience than one might typically see for traditional golf. During the opening match in January 2025, for example, 44% of the broadcast audience on ESPN were adults in the much-coveted 18–49 demo. (In comparison, the broadcast audience of a PGA Tour round from the week before comprised just 17% of that demo.)
“In a world of ever-changing consumption habits, we felt as though a complimentary model, built to attract and pull in a more diverse audience to the sport, especially a platform for team golf, could be successful,” says Andrew George, senior vice president of live events for TGL and Woods and McIlroy's TMRW Sports.
