Golf Merit Badge History
Earned through 2020185,837
Best year20097,623 earned
All-time popularity#112official, as of 2020#113by 2025 (estimate)
Earned by Year
First earned in 1976. Peak year 2009 with 7,623. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.
Known count No data available
"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#67 of 141" means the badge was number 67 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.
1976283#130 of 130
19771,709#113 of 130
19781,761#105 of 131
19791,437#101 of 132
19801,007#96 of 132
19811,606#93 of 134
1982—
1983—
1984—
1985—
1986—
1987—
1988—
1989—
1990—
1991—
1992—
19934,220#71 of 123
1994—
1995—
19964,466#71 of 134
1997—
1998—
1999—
20007,320#59 of 128
20016,223#64 of 129
20026,767#65 of 129
20036,537#65 of 130
20046,872#62 of 121
20056,920#61 of 121
20066,831#59 of 121
20076,831#57 of 121
20087,163#58 of 121
20097,623#62 of 122
20107,236#67 of 125
20115,798#75 of 129
20125,128#70 of 132
20134,921#61 of 129
20143,955#99 of 136
20153,826#99 of 138
20163,605#102 of 138
20173,248#106 of 139
20183,060#110 of 139
20192,959#112 of 139
20202,369#110 of 137
2021—#115 of 137
2022—#114 of 138
2023—#121 of 138
2024—#81 of 138
2025—#67 of 141
Grand total through 2020:
This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.