Public Golf Courses Increased by 12 Locations

Korea Golf Course Management Association Announces Golf Course Status
153 Membership Courses, Up by 1
17 Non-Membership Courses, Down by 10

The number of public golf courses has increased.

The Korea Golf Course Management Association announced the status of golf courses nationwide as of 2025 on the 6th. According to the association's survey, as of January 1, 2025, there are 153 membership golf courses, 355 public golf courses, and 17 non-membership golf courses in South Korea. The number of membership golf courses increased by one, and public golf courses increased by 12 compared to last year. Non-membership golf courses decreased from 27 last year to 17 this year.

South Springs CC, which was a non-membership golf course, has been converted into a public golf course. Photo by South Springs CC

The reason for the increase in public golf courses is that non-membership golf courses changed their operating methods. Eleven golf courses that operated as non-membership switched to public golf courses. These include South Springs (Gyeonggi), Bear Creek Chuncheon, Sono Felice Delfino, Sono Felice Vivaldi Park Mountain/West, Sono Felice Vivaldi Park East, Aurora Golf & Resort (all in Gangwon), Monarch, Eumseong Hildesheim (both in Chungbuk), and Pine Beach (Jeonnam). The newly registered membership golf course is Bella45 Owners Club (Gangwon).

A representative of the Korea Golf Course Management Association stated, "The property tax burden (property tax + comprehensive real estate tax) on non-membership golf courses is higher than that on membership golf courses," adding, "As a result, non-membership golf courses, which used to freely set green fees while providing differentiated premium services, have switched to public golf courses due to the burden of property taxes."