Have you ever heard of the hot new sport called footgolf? It’s an all-ages diversion that’s fun for players of all skill level and physical ability, and the Fairfax County Park Authority was lauded with an award for Best New Program at the 62nd Annual Conference of the Virginia Recreation and Park Society (VRPS), which was held last week in Roanoke. The award, which is statewide and therefore a matter of no small prestige, was given to the Park Authority for Pinecrest Golf Course’s FootGolf program. It was honored in the category of communities with a population larger than 100,000 people.
Annually, VRPS recognizes people, departments and groups throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia who have shown superiority in any of many different categories during the year previous. All nominees are judged by a jury of peers from the statewide parks program. Over 500 delegates hailing from all around Virginia came together for this year’s VRPS conference. For all attendees it offers a chance to learn new things and for recreation and park professionals to put together their heads on subjects of common interest.
Footgolf has attracted heaps of attention in the community from people who normally would never head to a golf course. The sport is played with a regulation #5 soccer ball, which is kicked into a 21-inch cup. Although courses vary, the “par,” or average amount of kicks per turn, is five. The player who finishes the course with the fewest kicks wins. The rise of footgolf has been linked with the decline in popularity of the game of golf among younger people. Some golf courses across the country have installed footgolf in a pattern perpendicular to that of golf play, so that both games can be played simultaneously.
According to Wikipedia, Ted Bishop, forger PGA president, was quoted in 2014 as having said: "I think it would be ludicrous to think there won't be a percentage of those people that might say, 'Hey, you know what? I think I'd like to try and play golf." The entry on footgolf also cites a March 2016 soundbyte by LPGA golfer Paula Creamer: “Anytime you can do something differently in the game of golf, it’s fun and I think we’ll probably be out there (playing footgolf) a little bit more now."
Pinecrest is the only FootGolf facility in Fairfax County. It has been certified by the American FootGolf League, the governing body for the sport of FootGolf in the U.S. The par 60 course is 1,965 yards with 18 holes.
