I have just had the pleasure of meeting Roberto and Laura Balestrini at The Lights at Indio Golf Course in California.  Roberto is the founder of the American FootGolf League, and  introduced FootGolf to North America…….and you are still wondering what is FootGolf!

Well….think of golf and soccer meshed together as a new sport played on an existing golf course – ideal on a Par 3 course.  The soccer ball is kicked from the tee box down the fairway.  It is probably kicked once more to get to the green – a special area to the side of the golf green with a flag in a very large hole – think a laundry basket – 21″ diameter.

Eighteen holes are played and each hole measures approximately 200 yds.  The score card is very similar to a golf score card and a game will take about 2 hours.

A tournament was being held the evening I attended.  As the golf course is night-lit, it was an ideal situation for the FootGolf tournament and a shotgun start.  The flights for the competition were Men, Women, and Juniors.  Lots of chatter and laugher!

FootGolf originated in Holland in 2008.  It then spread to several European countries, then to South America, and finally… thanks to the Ballestrini’s, FootGolf arrived in the US . In the US there are 279 clubs in 43 states offering FootGolf, in Canada 20 clubs thus far.

A wonderful feature of FootGolf is that all ages can play and that it can help familiarize young people with a golf course long before they can master the game of golf (who does that???) if they are keen to do so later.

Interested?  www.thisisfootgolf.com

Happy New Year everyone!