'Footgolf': Unique spin on golf comes to Yorkton

YORKTON -

An interesting spin on golf is taking over York Lake Regional Golf Course in Yorkton – and no clubs are required.

Footgolf is becoming an increasingly popular sport among families looking for a unique outing especially with younger kids. The game is just like golf, but instead of hitting a golf ball with a club, you kick a soccer ball towards the hole.

Vice Principal of Columbia School Jason Gordon said it’s a good recreational activity in the community for students to take advantage of.

“It’s a fun activity that involves soccer and golf and I think York Lake did a really good job of turning a flood into a win-win by turning it into a footgolf course and an opportunity for kids,” Gordon said.

The object of the game is simple, get the ball in the hole in the least amount of shots.

“I don’t know if we will get any hole in ones today so there was a challenge already but I think the challenge would be keep track of how many times you kick the ball,” he said.

Rick Schrader, vice president of operations York lake Golf Course, said it’s all about your technique.

“It’s easy as in how hard you kick the ball, if you kick the ball five feet it’s not bad. If you kick the ball quite a bit further it can go to the left or go to the right or sometimes who knows where it goes,” Schrader said.

He added that the course is one of a kind.

“Unique is basically [what it is], where else in the world can you take a soccer ball kick it with your feet and put it into a hole and count your score. You just can’t do that with soccer,” Schrader said.

Schrader said the popularity of the sport is due to the influx of soccer players wanting to work on their skills.

“We’ve really found it to be family oriented operation as to what people do. A lot of time you will have a dad out with the boy who is a soccer player and kicking it around and spending some time and it’s quite relaxing,” he said.