When Lyndy Lindsey, owner of The Greens at Auburn, first experienced footgolf in Kansas, he knew it would be a welcome addition on one of his properties.
Footgolf, which first originated in California, is a special mix of soccer and golf. Like golf, the goal of the game is to get a ball across the fairway. Unlike golf, which uses a small golf ball and different clubs to move the ball toward the hole, footgolf only requires a soccer ball.
Blake Moon, community director at The Greens, said Lindsey decided to bring footgolf to the property because footgolf would be a new addition to the area.
“There are a lot of golf courses here, and we knew that none of them have a footgolf course, and we knew that if we made one it would help us compete with other courses,” Moon said.
Ray Grimes, superintendent at The Greens, was tasked with incorporating the footgolf course into The Greens’ already expansive golf course. Grimes said he was inspired by other footgolf courses in places such as Foley, but knew their course had to be different.
“We tried to make it more golf-like to introduce people to golf,” Grimes said.
To make it more like actual golf, Grimes attempted to make the course less flat than other footgolf courses by incorporating more terrain at each hole. Designing the course was more difficult when it became apparent lakes found on the course would have to be avoided.
“With regular golf, if you knock a ball into a lake you just grab another ball,” Moon said. “In footgolf, you only have one soccer ball and it floats, and with the wind blowing it can take a long time to fish it out.”
The course was finished over the summer, and it features 18 holes.
Anna Pearson, freshman in business, said she felt the new sport might be a good opportunity to bond with family.
“I played soccer all throughout high school, and my father has been a fan of golf since I was very young,” Pearson said. “Footgolf might be a good way for him and I to bond when he comes to Auburn to visit.”
The price for 18 holes of footgolf is $14 for adults and $8 for children under 16. Soccer balls can be rented for $4.
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