Golfing player numbers in Otago have remained relatively static but closer inspection shows a rise in Central Otago is offsetting a decline of more than 10% in four years in other parts of the region.
The sport is one of the many traditional sports trying to find its way in modern society in which there are multiple options and many people are time poor.
The Southland Times reported last week clubs in Invercargill were considering mergers because of declining membership and falling income.
In 2012 in Otago there were 9422 affiliated golfers while, four years later, that figure had dropped slightly to 9396.
In Otago in 2012, there were 7222 male members in the 56 clubs across Otago - in 2016, this had increased slightly to 7235 registered male members. Females had dropped from 2200 to 2161.
But a closer look at the figures showed that in the Dunedin area, numbers had dropped in both men's and women's golf.
In 2012, there were 3221 golfers in Dunedin but this had dropped to 2858 in 2016. The men had dropped by 288 and the women by 75.
North Otago dropped from 999 to 857, more than 10%, while South Otago dropped from 878 to 755, also a drop of more than 10%.
In the Central Otago region in 2012, there were 4324 golfers - that rose to 4926 in 2016, a rise of more than 10%.
The number of men had increased by 493 while the number of women had increased by 109.
Golf Otago executive officer Doug Harradine said overall the picture was one of a decline in Dunedin, North Otago and South Otago but regionwide that was set off by a rise in Central Otago.
That came about through more people moving into the Central Otago area, many of them retired people who liked to play golf.
Harradine said many of the nine-hole courses were proving popular as people lacked the time to play 18 holes.
''Like most sports, the shorter version of the game does appeal to certain people. It does not grab the more established golfer as much,'' he said.
He said there was a bit of a resistance to nine-hole golf from clubs with 18 holes.
''If you looked at the most popular golf played then it would be twilight golf. The interfirm golf, the golf where sports teams might enter during the summer.''
He said at a place such as Cromwell there would be 120 playing twilight golf on Thursday nights while it was from 60 to 70 on Saturdays.
He said clubs in Dunedin were talking to each other to try to make the sport more attractive to play.
Although it was only a slight decrease year on year, if added up over a decade it would be a significant drop.
Many clubs in Central Otago had reciprocal playing rights which allowed players to play on different courses on Saturdays.
The biggest club in Otago was the Wanaka Golf Club which had 937 members while the smallest was Glenorchy which had six members.
