5 Notes on Playing FootGolf for the First Time

On a recent trip to Jack Hill State Park, I got to try FootGolf for the first time. The Park has a course overlaid on the (real) golf course at Brazell’s Creek.

The sport (yes, apparently it is an organized sport) is, at the same time, one of the most ridiculous & most fun sports I’ve ever done. I’m glad that the superintendent at Jack Hill State Park gave it a shot.

FootGolf Is A Simple Sport That Can Be as Difficult As You Want It To Be

You kick the ball into a hole. It’s simple. But here’s the thing.

The ball rolls. And that is where the skill comes in. It’s like bowling if the lanes had all sorts of slope. The distance and slopes introduces all sorts of strategies and tactics that level up the sport to something even pros can play.

FootGolf Is Very Accessible & Straightforward

FootGolf uses regulation soccer balls, which are some of the most abundant and accessible sports equipment on the planet. It requires a hole in the ground that’s twice the diameter of the ball, and a flag to mark the hole if you are feeling fancy.

The rules are…kick the ball from the starting area into the hole.

There’s no pads or shoes or angled clubs or anything else. In some ways, it’s simpler than soccer and basketball. Any age can play. There is a lot of “beginner’s luck”. And honestly, like real golf, the magic is in short accurate kicks. You don’t have to be an NFL punter to do well.

FootGolf Can Make Efficient Use of Existing Golf Courses

I’ve played (original) golf since I was a kid. I love it. It’s a fun sport, but I have always had one serious quibble.

Golf is a truly ridiculous use of land, energy, and money. Yes, some golf courses can be sustainable and useful, such as links style courses in Scotland or the Midwest. And some can have a sort of artificial beauty. But they are mostly just sterile, deforested, poisoned tracts of land that no one can even walk on.

To me, the solution is to just stop building so many courses and make better use of the ones we have. I love Twilight Golf. And I love that the main golf demographic (retirees) puts the land to use throughout weekdays.

But I absolutely love the idea of having multiple uses of these courses. Brazell Creek generally slows down around Noon, which is when they allow FootGolf tee times. FootGolfers maintain about the same pace as a twosome…and they play two holes for every one golf hole, so things move along without too much conflict.

Brazell Creek is even planning on adding a Disc Golf course on the course as well. I love it. The course exists – let’s get as many people recreating and having fun on the same land as possible.

FootGolf Takes Some Skill & Practice

I’m not an incredible athlete but just figured that I’d be at least mediocre at FootGolf. I can kick a ball pretty far and I’m used to putting in golf.

But FootGolf is a whole different sport.

I thought I’d keep score…until I didn’t get less than an 8 on the first 10 holes. It’s so difficult!

Here’s a pretty accurate video of a beginner playing an actual professional.

The whole sport has like the most difficult parts of soccer and the most difficult parts of golf combined.

FootGolf Is a Nice Complement To Walking

Mark Twain is supposed to have quipped that “golf is a nice walk ruined”. That’s definitely true in a way. But I also think that it is nice to “have something else” when walking or being in nature. I mean, I’m pretty sure that 90% of the reason people fish is to have an excuse to just sit outside near water for a long time.

And FootGolf fits that bill. Using a golf cart makes no sense since you can’t really kick the ball that far. So what you really end up doing is walking around a lovely, landscaped golf course chatting with your playing partners while kicking a ball every few minutes.

I can’t think of a more wholesome or lovely excuse to take a walk with friends.