Have you ever tried playing soccer golf? The newest soccer trend is foot golf. Sometimes it’s called foot golf too but it’s growing in popularity especially in cities like Atlanta, Phoenix, Austin and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Not sure how golfers feel about soccer golf or foot-golf but I want to try playing a round or two. Looks fun!
Yes, believe it or not, foot golf is a real thing and gaining more soccer players everyday – actually, I should say, gaining more soccer golf players everyday. Who doesn’t want to go out on a beautiful golf course and strike a soccer ball across it or step onto a putting green and pass the ball into the hole – yes, a hole that’s a bit bigger on soccer golf courses.
But a foot golf course can take place anywhere, really. It’s a fun game to play with your soccer team to change things up a bit or just use as a warm up game. Foot golf is also a good game to work on your touch, placement and the weight and power you use on the ball when you strike it – sometimes you need backspin and other times you might have to bend the ball around a tree.
New: Foot Golf By Wayne Rooney
Field size: Golf course, an open area in park or around a soccer field
Number of players: at least two players or a full team can even play. Actually, you can play on your own but it’s much more fun if you play with a group to challenge one another.
Age range: 8-18 (Well, adults and former soccer players are playing soccer golf more and more)
Description: In foot golf you’re playing to a series of targets (holes) and counting the kicks (strokes) it takes to get to those targets. Instead of hitting the ball into the hole, players have to hit a target, say a tree or a garbage can with their soccer ball.
You’ll need a lot of space for this game, not just a whole soccer field but more like a big park. However, you could setup a small golf course on a soccer field, but it’s best to set this up so you’re playing to a tree, the post of a goal, a garbage can or other objects throughout a soccer park. This can be hard to do if you’re playing in an area with a lot of other teams, but something you can do on a day where you have a lot of space.
Cones can also be used to mark holes for the players to aim at. For a young soccer team, you can setup a miniature golf course for them to play. It a great game for young players to work on their long balls and aim with the soccer ball.
If you’re trying to setup foot golf just on a soccer pitch, you can try to go from one corner flag to the other and then back and get a few rounds in that way.
As in real golf, putting comes into play when you hit a long ball and then have to hit a short pass that strikes a tree, a garbage can or a corner flag from close range.
Again, really, foot golf is a fun game for young kids who are just starting out in soccer. It gets them used to hitting long and short passes and aiming at a target.
Equipment needed: Cones and a soccer ball for each player.
Extra: Check out Kaka playing soccer golf, although they’re playing at an actual golf course, you still can make up your own course wherever you have enough space. What interesting though is it’s actually becoming a popular game to play at actual golf courses. We’ll see if it continues to grow in popularity. And don’t forget the Nike ad with Wayne Rooney playing soccer golf.
Kaka and Tim Howard hit the course.
Here’s a list of some of the courses in the United States:
As of today, the American FootGolf League has established and accredited 90 FootGolf Courses throughout the North American Continent. Find a foot golf course near you.
