A review of comments posted by golfers who have played courses that now also offer the new sport showed some growing friction over how the “soccer golfers” disrespect traditional players and show less concern for proper care of the property.
Is FootGolf a boon to golf courses, or a nuisance to its patrons?
That’s the question that Brandon Tucker, Managing Editor of the consumer-review website GolfAdvisor.com, set out to answer by scanning reviews posted by golfers who played courses that now double as a FootGolf facility, as more operators try to capitalize on the growing popularity of the new sport, where players kick soccer balls around the property and into 21-inch diameter cups.
Many golf course operators are high on the sport as a way to fill more tee times and convert soccer enthusiasts into new golfers, Tucker noted, but negative reviews that have been posted about FootGolf by traditional golfers show that those operators may need to address concerns that threaten to drive away previously loyal patrons.
Mentions of FootGolf or “soccer golf” in GolfAdvisor.com reviews have greatly increased this summer, Tucker reported, indicating that the new sport has taken off, perhaps bolstered by interest in this summer’s World Cup. The fact that high-profile PGA Tour pros such as Sergio Garcia have tried it may have also spurred interest, he noted.
The American FootGolf Association reports that the sport has spread to more than 200 courses throughout the U.S., Tucker reported, and not a lot of marketing effort has been required to help it gain momentum, with word-of-mouth doing much of the job.
Courses picking up on the Footgolf trend range from short courses and casual nine-hole layouts to resort courses, Tucker noted. (The GolfAdvisor.com article included this link to courses offering FootGolf, as compiled by the American Foot Golf League: http://www.afgl.us/courses.html
But with the growth has come an indication that the new players may not be very well-versed in traditional golf course and club etiquette, Tucker reported.
“It’s not all a bag of kicks,” Tucker wrote after doing his research. “Unlike disc golf, [FootGolf] players use the same fairways as golfers, sometimes at the same time. [And this] clash has some golfers crying foul—and not just because FootGolfers usually pay less to use the course.
“At its best, FootGolfers play the course during off-peak hours with a similar or faster pace than golfers while chewing up less grass,” Tucker noted. “At its worst, it’s loosely supervised day care.”
Tucker reported on a comment posted under the username AlexHawke about a frustrating encounter with FootGolf at Woodland Golf Course in Cincinnati.
“30 screaming kids on the course,” AlexHawke wrote. “Running around with little to no supervision. No enforcement for pace of play. They literally allow players to bounce from hole to hole to avoid the foot-golfers.
Another reviewer posted these comments after encountering FootGolfers at the Fountains Course at Welk Resort in San Diego, Tucker reported: “Large groups kicking soccer balls all over the place. One group pushing a baby around in a stroller as they played.”
Another reviewer wrote this after a round at the Strategic Fox, an 18-hole, par-3 course at the Fox Hills Golf & Banquet Center in Plymouth Township, Mich.: “Every sand trap was trampled and not raked, and there was trash all over the course. Hopefully this FootGolf fad will be over after the World Cup.”
A reviewer who described himself as a relatively new golfer posted a comment after his encounter with a family of FootGolfers disturbing his round at nine-hole Cascades, one of seven courses at Crystal Springs Resort in Sussex County, N. J., Tucker reported. Like many reviewers, he expressed a willingness to share the course with FootGolfers as long as they abide by the proper decorum.
“Maybe an intro to golf seminar, focusing not on rules but courtesy and how to keep the game flowing, would be great for all these folks,” this reviewer wrote.
It’s also understood that FootGolfers should not wear soccer cleats on the golf course, but some golfers are saying this rule is not being enforced, Tucker’s research found. One reviewer reported that he noticed damaged greens during his round at nine-hole Harvey Penick Golf Campus in Austin, Texas, a beginner-friendly course that is also home to the city’s First Tee facility:
“The greens were pock-marked with these people wearing soccer cleats on the green,” this reviewer wrote, “and [the FootGolferswere also] taking divots out of the green when shooting for their own ‘FootGolf’ pin.”
Even if there aren’t FootGolfers on the course during a round, some players have posted comments indicating that they’ve found having two pins on holes confusing.
“[For] a couple of holes I mistook the FootGolf flag with the golf flag,” a reviewer wrote after his round at Cherry Island Golf Course in Elverta, Calif. “Perhaps a short and quick reminder at the check-in will be very helpful.”
Some posted comments, Tucker reported, indicated that if FootGolfers could be made to keep up the pace—or if course rangers stayed out in the afternoon during FootGolf hours—that would go a long way towards helping everyone learn to coexist.
And there were golfers who had no issues with sharing the course with FootGolfers and included positive comments in their GolfAdvisor.com reviews.
“I did not know what to expect with ‘foot golfers’ playing at the same time,” wrote another golfer at Cascades. “But in reality they play very fast and from different tees to different targets.”
There were in fact some golfers who noticed FootGolf during their rounds and become intrigued enough to try it out, Tucker reported.
“I also played nine holes of FootGolf (after my round of real golf),” wrote a reviewer who played the Chesapeake Bay Golf Club’s Rising Sun course in Rising Sun, Md. “And I will definitely come back to play all of the 18 holes of FootGolf; it was awesome.”
Another reviewer of Cascades wrote: “As a parent of three soccer players at home, I can’t wait to come back and expose them to this form of soccer golf!”
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