New Industry Data Reveals Safety Oversight Gap Facing Golf Facilities

Golf Facilities Safety & Compliance Report 2026 highlights the gap between responsibility and visibility

A newly released industry report has revealed a significant challenge facing golf facilities: the gap between safety responsibility and operational visibility. The Golf Facilities Safety & Compliance Report 2026, produced in collaboration with NGCOA and Obbi Club, provides the first comprehensive look at how facilities are managing safety, compliance, and governance accountability. Based on responses from owners, general managers, CEOs, board members, and senior operators, the findings move the conversation from assumption to evidence.

The Visibility Problem

One of the most striking findings: only 17% of participants are confident their board or committee fully understands its legal duty of care for the health and safety of staff, members, and visitors.
This isn’t a theoretical concern. 66% of facilities reported at least one incident or accident in the last two years with potential claim exposure. When boards don’t understand their accountability, and leadership doesn’t have clear visibility into what’s been done, risk builds quietly until something goes wrong.

The data reveals where the gaps exist:

• 54% believe that at least some checks, audits, certifications, or training are not always fully up to date
• Only 44% of facilities receive an annual health and safety inspection by a qualified professional
• Training consistency remains a major challenge, particularly due to seasonal staffing and time pressures
• Fragmented documentation systems make audits, inspections, and claims harder to defend

Beyond the numbers, the open-ended responses delivered a consistent message: golf facilities are not looking for more theory, generic training, or additional paperwork. They want practical, golf-specific guidance. Clear expectations. Systems that reflect how they actually operate day to day. This feedback matters. It reinforces what we’ve seen working with facilities across the country: safe operations and good operations are part of the same system. Consistency, visibility, and leadership engagement aren’t optional extras, they’re the foundations of defensible, well-run facilities.

“Thank you to NGCOA and every member who took the time to participate in this research. Industry-wide data like this is invaluable, it moves the conversation away from assumption and toward evidence, which is exactly where it needs to be. Understanding where the real gaps exist is the first step to building operations that protect people and organisations with confidence.”
– Gareth, Founder, Obbi Club

Expert Insights on Risk and Regulation

The report includes commentary from legal, insurance, safety, and operations specialists who work directly with golf facilities:

• EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants on risk mitigation strategies
• Michael Morris Consulting on maintenance and operational defensibility
• Holland & Knight LLP on board accountability and legal obligations
• Club Safety Solutions LLC on OSHA citation trends and compliance gaps

The report also examines emerging regulations, including proposed federal heat standards and their potential operational impact, an area where many facilities are underprepared for what may be coming.

Moving From Reactive to Proactive

The findings make clear that many facilities are operating reactively: handling compliance as it comes up, rather than building systems that deliver ongoing assurance. The challenge isn’t commitment, operators care deeply about doing the right thing. The challenge is having the visibility, documentation, and governance oversight to prove it when it matters. Audit-ready evidence. Real-time insight into what’s overdue or incomplete. Connected systems that link training to competency, checks to corrective actions, and incidents to preventable patterns. That’s where the industry needs to move.

“At NGCOA, our priority is equipping our members with the knowledge and tools they need to succeed – and this research will directly inform the educational content and resources we develop to help facilities operate more safely and confidently going forward.”
– Taylor Wall, Senior Director of Education, NGCOA

A Practical Resource for Leadership

The Golf Facilities Safety & Compliance Report 2026 is now available as a practical resource for owners, general managers, boards, and department heads seeking to strengthen safety culture, improve governance oversight, and operate with greater confidence in an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

Rather than framing safety as a standalone compliance exercise, the report reinforces a straightforward principle: standards don’t protect themselves. Systems do.

Understanding where the gaps exist is the first step to building operations that protect people and organisations with confidence.

About This Research

The Golf Facilities Safety & Compliance Report 2026 was developed in collaboration with NGCOA, drawing on responses from facility owners, general managers, CEOs, board members, and senior operations leaders across the United States. The report examines current practices in health and safety management, compliance oversight, training consistency, documentation systems, and governance accountability.