In the never-ending quest to drive revenue at golf courses in ways that do not include traditional golf, enter FlingGolf.
The game is played on a traditional golf course with regular golf balls. But instead of golf clubs, players use what is called a FlingStick. Sticks start at about $110 and look like a hybrid lacrosse stick. Players insert the ball into a basketlike cup at the end of the stick, then swing it using mostly a baseball swing, releasing the ball up to 200 yards down the fairway with a snap of the wrist. Walk, scoop and repeat until you reach the green. The swing actually looks a lot like a disgruntled golfer heaving their clubs in disgust after an errant shot.
Finally, players use the same stick, rather than a putter, to gently push the ball along the surface toward the hole.
"People see the stick, and they think it is a ball retriever," said Kathy VanDeHey, owner of Mid Vallee Golf Course in Wisconsin, which has offered FlingGolf since 2014.
Like FootGolf, it is promoted, sort of, as a revenue-driving alternative to traditional golf in much the same way that snowboarding served as a surrogate to downhill skiing. The game first came on the scene about four years ago, but has struggled to catch on. The web site flinggolf.com claims the game is played on hundreds of courses across the country, but some cold-calling revealed a half dozen courses that had never heard of it, one that no longer offers it and another that has offered it since 2014, even though few if any people play it.
"We saw it at a golf course owners convention and decided to give it a try. People were more interested in it then than they are now," VanDeHey said. "People still do it occasionally, but I think the novelty has worn off.
"If someone is interested in learning it, we give them a bucket of balls and go to the range with them to teach them how to do it. You do have to get that release point down."
The upside is the game is easy to learn, it's fast (balls stay in the middle of the fairway, allowing a twosome to play nine holes comfortably in 45 minutes), players don't have to know how to play traditional golf yet, unlike with FootGolf, they can be mixed in with regular play and can even fill out a foursome of traditional golfers. And since the game is pretty much throw, scoop and throw again, there are no divots to fix.
Ideally, the game is designed for nine holes from the forward tees.
"You are really tired after nine holes," VanDeHey said. "I've never seen anyone play 18 holes."