Marbella’s new golf craze proves a hit

Marbella is fast becoming the spiritual home of footgolf

Minority sports are usually the domain of the picked-last-in-gym-class types who take an interest safe in the knowledge that their prowess is rarely, if ever, likely to be called into question.

But a new sporting craze that combines two of the world’s most popular pursuits – golf and football – is decidedly minority, but boasts plentiful mainstream potential…

Footgolf – yes, that is a thing – was invented as recently as 2009 and is already making waves internationally, so much so that Marbella last weekend played host to the European Championships.

The premise of footgolf is simple. Players must manipulate a ball into a hole across 18 different holes. So far, so golf. The difference being that the player must use their feet to kick the ball – which is the same shape and weight as a regular football – into the hole. The holes are bigger than typical golf course holes, naturally, but other than that the rules and scoring are exactly the same.

So what does all this have to do with Marbella? Well, as the Costa del Sol boasts some of Europe’s finest golf courses and golfing conditions, it was only natural that footgolf would eventually make its way to southern Spain.

Footgolf balls are the same size as regular footballs, and naturally, the holes are bigger

Over the weekend, 80 players from ten countries competed in the European Championships – officially known as the Footgolf Europa Cup de Andalucía – which was held at the Atalaya Golf & Country Club.

The Club’s Managing Director, Andrés Sánchez García, explained his decision to open up the normally exclusive golfing establishment to the hordes of this new trend.

“We think that this will give a very positive image that golf courses are open, not just for golfers but also for football players,” said García. “This is a very positive thing. We think we will get more football players, or other types of players, playing footgolf and then getting into golf, and we want to have more golf players all around Europe.”

Not all of the Costa del Sol’s golf courses are open for footgolfers, but the Irish Times report that as many as 70 have already opened their greens for this new type of player.

And although the sport simply screams ‘OI OI, STAG DO ACTIVITY’, players take things very seriously: the latest championship was won by Dutchman Bjorn Bulk, adding the European title to the World Champion title he won a little earlier in the year.

There are also team events too, with Italy walking away with the gong at the weekend to be crowned European Champions. Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Holland and Hungary also competed but, alas, there were no representatives from the UK.

However, given the perennial struggles of the Scottish, English, Welsh and Northern Irish football teams, perhaps that was a good thing…

If you are interested in playing a round of footgolf on the Costa del Sol, visit www.footgolfmarbella.com