The city saw a decline in FootGolf rounds in 2015, and one course recently closed at Cherry Island Golf Course in Elverta. Operator Empire Golf said the FootGolf course wasn’t worth the negativity from traditional golfers and didn’t achieve the crossover it hoped for, while Haggin Oaks Head Pro Mike Woods speculated that the decline in rounds is due to increased competition rather than a lack of participation.
With seven courses in the area, Sacramento, Calif., is arguably the FootGolf capital of America. Haggin Oaks hosts the most rounds in the country, and four of the 15 players representing the United States at the FootGolf World Cup that starts today in Buenos Aires are from Sacramento, the Sacramento Bee reported.
However, the sport has plateaued locally. Cherry Island closed its course last week, and the number of 2015 rounds at Haggin Oaks was down 10% from the year before, the Bee reported.
Cherry Island, which peaked at 200 rounds a month since opening in November 2013, hadn’t hosted a round since October. Rod Metzler, president of Empire Golf, the company that operates Cherry Island, said keeping the FootGolf course open wasn’t worth the negativity from traditional golfers, the Bee reported.
Strangely, the majority of gripes, Metzler said, weren’t from golfers competing for space with FootGolfers but from seeing flagsticks on the distant FootGolf greens, the Bee reported.
“It was fun to watch,” Metzler said. “Especially in the beginning, the real soccer players flying the ball to 100-yard holes. But we didn’t see any crossover. That’s what we were hoping for.”
Haggin Oaks, the area’s first course to offer FootGolf in July 2013, did almost 800 rounds a month during its 2015 peak, head pro Mike Woods said. He speculated the 10% decline was because of increased competition rather than a decline in participation, the Bee reported.
“I think it needs another level of promotion and life,” Woods said. “If we’re going to expand, we need to get out into the soccer community more.”
FootGolf turns 10 this year. There are 451 courses in 48 states, according to Roberto Balestrini, who introduced the sport to North America four years ago and heads the American FootGolf League, headquartered in Palm Springs, the Bee reported.
Management is key to the success of a FootGolf course, Balestrini said. Courses such as Haggin Oaks that offer the sport sunup to sundown seven days a week have an advantage over those that limit play to afternoons or select days, the Bee reported.
Woodcreek, which opened its FootGolf course in September 2014, did 3,000 after-2 p.m. rounds in 2015, said Rob Frederick, the director of golf. Rolling Greens in Granite Bay has offered FootGolf for about a year and has averaged 50 rounds a month, said director of golf Frank Mayer. Frederick and Mayer said the sport been a positive addition, especially for birthday and team-building parties, the Bee reported.
“It’s something we haven’t seen out here,” Mayer said. “Junior golfers, 10- and 12-year-olds, will have a birthday party. Some will play golf but most will play FootGolf. It’s been great.”
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