Grimsby Golf Course goes FootGolf only

Couldn't help ourselves - another reason why Grimsby is in the news.

Grimsby Golf Centre has become the second golf club to switch entirely to FootGolf, and it is reporting that user numbers have tripled in size since it changed over. Is this good or bad news for golf?

Grimsby GC is set in 44 acres, and used to be a par 32, nine-hole course. The management team then decided to convert the golf course into a full-size 18-hole FootGolf course instead of selling the course.

The venue’s 26-bay floodlit driving range will remain in operation and the facility will be called ‘Grimsby FootGolf & Driving Range’.

“Since its conversion to full-time FootGolf, user numbers have increased by a staggering 300 percent across the whole facility,” said spokesman Kieran Lawry.

“FootGolf is a remarkable phenomenon, it is transforming golf facilities across the country and I have no idea where this new extremely popular sport is going to end up,” said the venue’s owner, Colin Jenkins.

“It is extremely popular and brings a completely new audience to golf centres. Golf needs to be more ‘rock n’ roll’ and this louder and more accessible hybrid of golf and football is generating real revenues for facilities that need and want to find new customers.”

“Almost anyone can kick a ball, so it is a very inclusive sport and one that does not require expensive equipment or lots of practice. It may not be the same as cricket’s Twenty20, but for those of us operating public facing golf facilities, it is fabulous. Golfing purists may look down their noses and tut, but it will bring more people into the sport of golf than any current promotion and it’s fun.”

Nine-hole Burstow Golf Club in Surrey recently became Burstow FootGolf Centre. A typical round takes about 90 minutes and prices range from £6 to £15.

Gareth May, head of UK development at UK FootGolf, the sport’s governing body, said the growth of FootGolf should be treated as an opportunity, not a threat, for golf clubs.

FootGolf is also proving a hit with under-16s, with large numbers of children playing the sport with family, with football clubs or for birthday parties.

“Golf courses that have been operating FootGolf for 12 months or more are now reporting increases in golf club memberships and are attributing this increase to the number of new people visiting their facility for the very first time, trying FootGolf and then, as a consequence, trying golf later.”

It is now thought that more than 300 UK golf courses will have a FootGolf course by this time next year.

And what do we think? Anything that helps, we're up for it.

But if you still like to smash it about with a golf club, here are six of the best new drivers for 2016.