Footgolf gaining popularity in Coachella Valley
The game of golf has been around for over 550 years, but a new game combining two popular sports is all the rage in the United States.
“It’s growing faster here in the US than Europe,” says Roberto Balestrini, founder of the American FootGolf League.
The game is footgolf, a combination of soccer and golf, played on a golf course. “The reaction is, ‘it’s harder than I thought, but it’s way more fun’,” added Balestrini.
The AFGL is the only recognized governing body of footgolf in the United States and their offices are based in Palm Springs. Balestrini brought the game to the US in 2011 and has grown to over 400 participating courses in 48 states across the country.
“Courses and course owners and operators, they notice that they can generate additional income using the same landscape with an activity that requires no extra maintenance,” Balestrini explained.
54 courses exist in California, three of which are in the Coachella Valley. Cathedral Canyon Golf Club, The Lights at Indio, and in a few weeks Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert will all have footgolf available on top of their regular golf courses.
The rules are simple. Instead of using clubs and a golf ball, all you need is a regulation-size soccer ball and your leg. Courses are shorter, the hole is bigger (21-inch diameter), and same rules of playing golf apply. If you land in a bunker, you cannot take a running start to kick the ball. If you hit a water hazard, it counts as a stroke and you have to drop near or behind land where your ball hit water.
The sport is gaining positive traction from all different ages.
“I got invited by my coach the first time I played and I was excited just because it was a different twist on the game of soccer and golf,” said Lyndsey Knowles, a junior at La Quinta High School. “So it was interesting to see what it was about.”
Desert Willow Golf Resort general manager Derek White said footgolf will be available June 28th through September 20th. A full round with a cart costs $35 and his employees were the first guinea pigs on the course. “Our professional staff went out to play and it doesn’t get much more traditional than that and well all fell in love with it,” said White.
Traditional golfers may have initial gripes with sharing the course, but tee times are supposed to be spaced out from footgolf and regular golf. Footgolf is also supposed to be speedier, finishing a round in just about two hours.
“But then when they understand we don’t use soccer cleats, we don’t run on the course, and we have the holes located yards away from greens, they do understand,” said Balestrini. “Because they do love golf but they also see the possibility to introduce this new generation, people that never spend a penny on a golf course before, to the great game of golf.”
