I probably didn’t pick the best day to try footgolf - it had been raining all week and on the Saturday that we played it was probably about two degrees Celsius. In my head I’d pictured pristine greens, well-maintained fairways, and a decent set of balls. It turned out that they’d stuck nine holes in a bit of unused land between the main courses, and charged £12 for the privilege of booting round a Sondico air floater straight from Sports Direct. Thankfully we got a discount from Dicky’s father-in-law who plays conventional golf on the main course and has done for 30 years, not a length of time I would imagine anyone playing footgolf for.
We managed to go round the nine holes twice, after overtaking a group of kids on the way who were pretty much dribbling the balls into the holes. Someone had obviously thought it would be a good idea to take about a dozen eight-year-olds to play on an adults course, and after two holes they understandably called it a day. Hopefully the rest of whoever’s birthday it was improved after that.
I went round in a semi-respectable 75, which was nine over par, but missed some absolute gimmes on the way. I only landed on my arse once, attempting a 50-yard drive on the tricky par-3 third, but would definitely recommend playing footgolf in dry, sunny weather, rather than the links-style conditions we ended up with.
Enjoyment - 65%
Success - 75%
Will try again - Yes
First timer's recommendation – Play in summer, and bring your own football.
