The goal just got a lot
The goal just got a lot smaller. T
his weekend I played a round at a golf course and it only cost me £8. Despite dressing up like a golfer, I was actually playing FootGolf; a game that combines football and golf in stunning fashion. FootGolf is a sport trying to break the barriers that exist around traditional golf; and with 10,000 players playing weekly, is doing just that. Written and Photographed by Nicholas Clarke
I
Business time on the 9th hole.
t’s business time on the 9th hole of Cold Ashby golf course in Northampton. I take a knee, evaluate the slope of the fairway and take three long strides back. No, I am not attempting a ridiculous Happy Gilmore styled drive down the fairway; I am playing FootGolf, a new sport that seems to be taking over the UK one course at a time. Despite many years ago seeing a slightly less official and more booze orientated FootGolf course in Koh Samui, Thailand, the sport now has an official body, official rules and official courses. Bryan Hughes, academy director at FootGolf UK, explained to me how this new sport actually works. “What we have done with FootGolf is really married two of the biggest sports in the World, football and golf. It’s all based around the pars and scorecards of golf, but obviously instead of using expensive golfing equipment you are
FootGolf UK will soon open it’s 100th FootGolf course and has expanded at an incredible rate since the organisation’s creation in 2012. “It’s the fastest growing sport in the UK at the moment, it’s really taking off. At this stage last season we had 10 or 12 courses, now we’re touching 100. We’re averaging about 10,000 people playing every week.That shows how fast it has grown over the past 12 months.” However the continued closing of golf courses across the country is partly responsible for the ascension of FootGolf. In the past five years England Golf has lost 100 affiliated club members, many due to the extremely expensive membership fees and equipment costs. Bryan is quick to acknowledge this. “There has been a massive decline in the sport of golf in the UK and
actually kicking a football around the course. Like golf there is a range of holes, we have Par 3s, 4s and 5s on most courses.” Hughes is an ex-Premier league football player, having had stints in England’s top division with Birmingham City and Hull FC. He tells me that the concept of FootGolf was born out of players staying behind to practice after training. “I knew about the concept when I was still playing, after training there would be a couple of lads who just get a ball and try to hit targets. Like the famous crossbar challenge, that is pretty much FootGolf but on the training ground. Now it is out on the golf course and it is fantastic.”
around the World. Courses have really felt the pinch economically, FootGolf is not a massive outlay to get installed and is a great revenue stream. In Doncaster in our first three weeks of opening we had 20002500 people playing, it’s a no-brainer for courses coming on board.” FootGolf can certainly claim to be a great revenue stream. I showed up with nothing but a pair of trainers, paid my £8, was handed a ball and sent to the first of nine holes. At most traditional golf clubs £10 would just about buy me 100 balls on the driving range. Furthermore Bryan continues to reassure me that this game is open to everyone and anyone who can kick a ball. “The juniors love it, but we’ve also got women and pensioners playing.They love it as a social activity, more of a gentle walk around the course kicking a football. It really is open to anyone.” Although the sport is open to anyone, last year the European FootGolf Federation (EFGF) launched the European
“It’s the fastest growing sport in the country.”
The UK’s top 10 Footgolfers 1. Ben Clarke, Hertfordshire 2. Nick Iron, Sussex 3. Mikey Downey, Yorkshire 4. Dan Spice, Kent 5. Ian Heydon, Essex 6. Paul Oliver, Sussex 7. Tom Spink. Prestwich 8. Dave Kavanah, Sussex 9. Chris Anderson, Kent 10. Marc Cowell, Yorkshire
A 18-inch wide FootGolf hole
his weekend I played a round at a golf course and it only cost me £8. Despite dressing up like a golfer, I was actually playing FootGolf; a game that combines football and golf in stunning fashion. FootGolf is a sport trying to break the barriers that exist around traditional golf; and with 10,000 players playing weekly, is doing just that. Written and Photographed by Nicholas Clarke
I
Business time on the 9th hole.
t’s business time on the 9th hole of Cold Ashby golf course in Northampton. I take a knee, evaluate the slope of the fairway and take three long strides back. No, I am not attempting a ridiculous Happy Gilmore styled drive down the fairway; I am playing FootGolf, a new sport that seems to be taking over the UK one course at a time. Despite many years ago seeing a slightly less official and more booze orientated FootGolf course in Koh Samui, Thailand, the sport now has an official body, official rules and official courses. Bryan Hughes, academy director at FootGolf UK, explained to me how this new sport actually works. “What we have done with FootGolf is really married two of the biggest sports in the World, football and golf. It’s all based around the pars and scorecards of golf, but obviously instead of using expensive golfing equipment you are
FootGolf UK will soon open it’s 100th FootGolf course and has expanded at an incredible rate since the organisation’s creation in 2012. “It’s the fastest growing sport in the UK at the moment, it’s really taking off. At this stage last season we had 10 or 12 courses, now we’re touching 100. We’re averaging about 10,000 people playing every week.That shows how fast it has grown over the past 12 months.” However the continued closing of golf courses across the country is partly responsible for the ascension of FootGolf. In the past five years England Golf has lost 100 affiliated club members, many due to the extremely expensive membership fees and equipment costs. Bryan is quick to acknowledge this. “There has been a massive decline in the sport of golf in the UK and
actually kicking a football around the course. Like golf there is a range of holes, we have Par 3s, 4s and 5s on most courses.” Hughes is an ex-Premier league football player, having had stints in England’s top division with Birmingham City and Hull FC. He tells me that the concept of FootGolf was born out of players staying behind to practice after training. “I knew about the concept when I was still playing, after training there would be a couple of lads who just get a ball and try to hit targets. Like the famous crossbar challenge, that is pretty much FootGolf but on the training ground. Now it is out on the golf course and it is fantastic.”
around the World. Courses have really felt the pinch economically, FootGolf is not a massive outlay to get installed and is a great revenue stream. In Doncaster in our first three weeks of opening we had 20002500 people playing, it’s a no-brainer for courses coming on board.” FootGolf can certainly claim to be a great revenue stream. I showed up with nothing but a pair of trainers, paid my £8, was handed a ball and sent to the first of nine holes. At most traditional golf clubs £10 would just about buy me 100 balls on the driving range. Furthermore Bryan continues to reassure me that this game is open to everyone and anyone who can kick a ball. “The juniors love it, but we’ve also got women and pensioners playing.They love it as a social activity, more of a gentle walk around the course kicking a football. It really is open to anyone.” Although the sport is open to anyone, last year the European FootGolf Federation (EFGF) launched the European
“It’s the fastest growing sport in the country.”
The UK’s top 10 Footgolfers 1. Ben Clarke, Hertfordshire 2. Nick Iron, Sussex 3. Mikey Downey, Yorkshire 4. Dan Spice, Kent 5. Ian Heydon, Essex 6. Paul Oliver, Sussex 7. Tom Spink. Prestwich 8. Dave Kavanah, Sussex 9. Chris Anderson, Kent 10. Marc Cowell, Yorkshire
A 18-inch wide FootGolf hole
