Footgolf: Cleats instead of clubs
As you can easily guess, FootGolf is a sport combining Football and Golf. To be more precise, it is a discipline practiced according to the rules of golf, but replacing the traditional honeycomb ball with a balloon, and the clubs with studs. The principle is rather simple: Enter the ball into a 55cm diameter hole, on a golf course, and with as few shots as possible.
Created in 2009 in the Netherlands, FootGolf is a discipline which is attracting more and more fans (5,000 licensees and 50 clubs in France). Among these footgolfers, we find former football professionals, like Roberto Ayala (Ex-Argentinian international) or Stéphane Borbiconi (Ex-FC Metz player).
Do you have to be a good footballer to excel in Footgolf? Not necessarily according to Laurent Erlinger, member of the Metz FootGolf club. Obviously, ball striking remains important, but you still have to take into account the course and the lines of the field. World team champion with France in 2018, Nicolas Pussini describes the discipline as a “Beautiful alloy between the technique of football and the mentality of golf”.
The language of golf is also very present in this discipline, in particular to define the different types of shots to be made (the drive to start, the approach for the second shot, and the putt to put the ball on the bottom).
Want to get started? The AFFG (French FootGolf Association) currently offers 51 courses spread throughout France, for regular practice but also for seminars.
However, annual membership to the AFFG is compulsory (10 euros for the current season). To do this, you will also have to pay the Green fee (entrance fee to a golf course), for an average cost of €10 for 9 holes, and €20 for 18 holes. Many discounts are still available for those under 18.
More of a fan of Lionel Messi or Tiger Woods? It doesn't matter, the future star of FootGolf may be you!
