For golf ‘purists’ it is almost sacrilege; for others, a fun way to play with the soccer ball on a golf course, and for some, a possible alternative that can generate revenue for a golf course in times of low occupancy.
The truth is that this new sport born in 2009 is gaining more and more followers, as a secondary attraction for golf courses, in several European and American countries.
Footgolf is played with a standard size soccer ball and consists of shooting at a large hole and trying to hit the ball in as few strokes as possible. The same as in golf, but using the feet instead of the clubs. Another peculiarity is that the hole is played off the green: in the fairway or rough.
Spain is still an almost inhospitable land for this new sport, but some golf courses have already begun to open their doors to footgolfers. And also to important competitions, as has recently done the Costa del Sol’s Atalaya Golf, whose Old Course has hosted the first edition of the European Footgol Cup, with participants from Italy, Ireland, Holland, Hungary, Spain and Portugal.
Organized by the EFGF, European Footgolf Federation and AFIES, Asociación Footgolf Internacional España, the team competition was won by Italy, while the individual classification was won by the Dutchman Bjorn Bulk, who is becoming the Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo of Footgolf.
“This new sport,” says Andrés Sánchez, director of Atalaya Golf, “is a hybrid between soccer and golf. It is played with a soccer ball and the hole where it has to be putted is 52 centimeters in diameter. The holes are built outside the green, on the fairway or in the rough, at an average distance of 150 meters, more or less, from the tee”.
“It is a game that has been all the rage in Nordic countries, in Holland, where it emerged, in Ireland, Italy and several South American countries. In Argentina it is an increasingly widespread fashion”, he assures.
-Why do you think this game can be implemented in Spain?
-Because the number one sport in our country is soccer, and people who play soccer can lose their fear of entering the world of golf. If this new sport makes it easier for soccer fans to access golf, I think it could work.
If they come to the course, they might pick up a golf club and try to play. Once they’ve lost the stage fright of coming, they might get hooked on golf.
The golf baptism through the Spanish Golf Federation did not have the desired success.
-Do you see it, therefore, as a new niche market for golf?
-I don’t think this has too much influence on the numbers, on the bottom line of a course, but it can be an extra income at times when the courses have low occupancy.
For us, this sport is totally new and we don’t know how the classic golfer will react: whether he will accept or reject it.
We also don’t know how many people play footgolf. It is an experiment. After the first tournament held at Atalaya Golf we will see if there is continuity and if it is interesting.
-Do you think that footgolf can attract players from other countries to our courses?
-Seeing those who have signed up for this tournament – teams from Italy, Scotland, Ireland, etc. – I think so, and it could change the seasonality of golf.
Leave a Reply