Get ready for a whole new “golf.”
Here in West Virginia, we combine the traditional game with 3 other sports to create 3 new golf games.
Have you tried your hand (or foot) at any of these newer sports in West Virginia?
Disc Golf
Disc Golf ditches the ball and clubs altogether, and instead uses frisbee-like discs with golf-like rules.
You toss a Frisbee at a metal basket called a Pole Hole. Scoring is just like golf: you want to complete each hole in the fewest throws. To progress down the fairway, you make each throw from the spot where your last one landed.
Trees, shrubs and terrain changes on the fairways make the game challenging, but fun. Of all the newer incarnations of golf, Disc Golf has been around the longest.
You can find Disc Golf courses at these and other parks throughout the state:
- The Disc Golf Farm at Grand Vue Park has 3 courses: The Black Course (the state’s longest), the Yellow Course (the state’s shortest, ideal for beginners) and the White Course, which winds past waterfalls and rock formations in a wooded setting.It’s home to the West Virginia Disc Golf Hall of Fame.
- Wine Cellar Park in Dunbar has a short, technical course that loops around the old wine cellars on site. The course has a variety of right and left curving shots with good elevation.
- Orange Crush in Fairmont is part of the Seth Burton Memorial Disc Golf Course. The wooded course has several twists and turns with a 300-foot elevation change.
FlingGolf
FlingGolf blends golf with lacrosse, an ancient Native American sport that’s popular on college campuses.
You use a long-shafted “club” called a Fling Stick, which has a grip on one end and a small basket on the other. You drop the ball into the basket, and use the stick to fling the ball along the course. You can also putt with the face of the Fling Stick.
You can try out FlingGolf at one of these courses:
- Pipestem Resort State Park will let you play FlingGolf on both its short course and its 18 hole championship course.
- Capon Springs & Farms has a par 3 prep course in which the holes are 30 to 85 yards long. Newbies can enjoy a complimentary introductory round of FlingGolf.
- Stonewall Resort in Roanoke has Fling Golf after 4 p.m. on its Arnold Palmer Signature Golf Course. Cost includes golf cart rental.
FootGolf
What do you get when you merge golf with soccer? FootGolf!
You play this exciting sport with a regulation #5 soccer ball on a golf course with shorter holes and larger 21-inch-wide cups. The rules are similar to regular golf, except players use their feet instead of clubs.
Check out FootGolf at one of these spots:
- Riverbend Golf Club in Fairmont is home to West Virginia’s first 18-hole FootGolf course. The “Kickin’ It Around the Bend” course is a 2,531-yard par 70 from the regular tees and a 2,956-yard par 70 from the tournament tees.
- You can play FootGolf at Pipestem Resort State Park’s par 3 golf course when traditional golf play is typically light (usually in the afternoon). You can bring your own #5 soccer ball or rent from the pro shop.
- The Woods Resort in Hedgesville officially opened its 18-hole Stony Lick course to FootGolf in 2015. Stony Lick is a mid-length course with pars 3 to 5.