Fairlee
FootGolf debuted at the Fairlee course on July 1 and has since developed a following on Sunday and Monday evenings.
Lake Morey assistant golf professional Justin Bonnett heard about the growing sport and figured its implementation was worth a try.
“Let’s face it,” Bonnett said on Sunday during a clubhouse interview. “Soccer is one of the most popular — maybe the most popular — sports in the country, so it seemed like a good blend. For us, it was trying to get kids comfortable with knowing where the golf course was and being on the golf course, and maybe that would gateway some of the kids and create some interest in (traditional) golf as well.”
Lake Morey’s nine-hole course — 1,210 total yards comprising a par of 35 — range in distance from 92 to 195 yards. Standard-size soccer balls are typically used, although smaller balls are made available for younger participants.
The holes, made of PVC material, are 21 inches in diameter and buried roughly two feet into the ground. Complete with removable flags, the apparatuses are officially sanctioned by the American FootGolf League (AFGL). Players kick off from designated tee boxes, some of which coincide with furthest-forward locations on the traditional golf course.
FootGolf at Lake Morey is slated for Sundays and Mondays at 5 p.m., but regular golf rounds don’t have to come to a screeching halt because of it. The two forms of golf coexist rather well.
“We’re able to throw foursomes out of foot golfers or golfers simultaneously,” Bonnett said. “So I could rotate if I needed to.”
The course costs $10 to play, a fee that’s good for as many trips around the nine holes as desired. Balls can be rented for $5 or players can bring their own.
Sunday’s participants included 13-year-old Ezra Avery, and his brother, Luke, 11. The locals teed off in the first group and were followed by a party of 10 or so out-of-towners who were staying across the street at the Lake Morey Resort.
A relaxed atmosphere abounded as the Avery boys punted balls from the first tee. Bonnett said that although official tournament rules require tee shots to be taken from the ground, he generally favored a to-each-their-own approach to tee-shot technique.
Morey’s nine FootGolf flags are spread across the golf course’s first, second, third, fourth and ninth holes. An intermediate foot golfer can expect to play the course in 30-40 minutes … depending on how that person fares on No. 5, a crux of the Bonnett-designed course.
The fifth tee beckons competitors to strike their ball over a large, foreboding water feature. Luckily, a 20-foot-long wooden stick with three natural pitch forks on one end resides near the water’s edge to aid in ball retrieval.
Bonnett said that between area families and guests staying at the resort, the new activity has been well-received. The Thetford Academy graduate, who played on the school’s Vermont Division III soccer championship squad in 1997, is also hoping to reach other audiences.
“The plan is to get some high school soccer teams,” he said. “Offer them discounts, get them up here, play, change up the environment, change up the skill set a little and not just do the same thing.”
Lake Morey isn’t alone in giving the game a try. Claremont Country Club ushered in FootGolf on Aug. 6.
“We opened the course up free to anyone who wanted to play,” said Dan Richardson, a member of Claremont’s board of directors and its greens chairman. “And 40 players came out. Since then, we’ve been charging for it.”
Claremont’s FootGolf fees are $8 for nine holes or $15 for 18 holes. Balls can be rented for $2.
Claremont’s course is set up on a full-time basis, allowing for play to take place anytime during regular business hours. Richardson said some families have played both sports simultaneously, with parents swinging and kids kicking.
“We kind of like the way it’s going,” Richardson said. “It’s bringing some new people into (the country club).”
The Keene State College men’s soccer team plans to play Claremont’s course in September, according to Richardson.
Like Bonnett, Richardson sees the advent of FootGolf as something of a sign of the times.
“What we’re seeing is the demographics of golf getting older and older and the demographics of soccer getting younger and younger,” Richardson said.
Both avid golfers said they hope to see some young people eventually bridge the gap between the two related sports.
“The rules are the same,” Richardson said. “The furthest away goes first, you have to wait your turn, be polite and quiet when someone else is shooting. … It gets them into the flow of how the game works.”
Richardson also indicated that the new sport doesn’t seem to be interfering with the old.
“My initial reaction is it meshes very well,” he said. “I’ve played golf the last two days and haven’t come close to any soccer holes.”