COMBINING TWO of your favorite things can often be the recipe for disaster. Tea and gravy, for example? So whoever thought of combining football with golf was clearly off his rocker. Or was he??
This weekend I experienced the new phenomenon of Footgolf for the first time and I have to say it was an unparalleled success.
The idea is simple. Basically, you kick a football from tee to hole in the least amount of kicks possible. In other words it is golf but without the clubs and with a larger ball!!
To experience it at its best you really need a large group of you, preferably most of which will have little or no footballing or golfing ability. Being proficient at either sport is not going to help you here, I'm afraid!
So on Friday afternoon, the work gang and myself made our way to Knotty Hill Golf Centre, near Sedgefield, for the first annual Infoserve Open! Entrants on the tee were Mikey Weston, Pete Ironside, Eddie Copland, Darren Cronin, Damo Wheelhouse, Nicky Taylor and myself.
Pre-tournament favourite was obviously footballing superstar Mikey, although the fact he was unable to head the ball was clearly going to count against him. Me, I fancied Pete to do well. When he has his competitive head on he takes some stopping.
The outsider was clearly Nicky, although she certainly came dressed for the part; looking every inch the golf pro in a cool black tracksuit combo!!
The first hole was a simple par three so inevitably we all struggled to get below a 6!! Mikey's tee shot ended up in the trees to the right, quickly followed by Eddie, so it was Pete who grabbed an early lead with a steady 5.
The next two or three holes were fairly straightforward as we all got into the swing of it, mostly scoring between 4 and 7. Although Eddie's 12 at the second left him with some work to do. I was handily placed in the top three at this stage and was confident of a strong late run to the finish.
The fifth hole, however, changed everything. Situated half way up a hill the size of Roseberry Topping, the scenario was clear. Miss with your putt and the ball would roll further away from the hole than when you started!!
No one scored well here although there was no excuse for my atrocious effort!! In my defence my 6th shot had hit the pin and bounced out while my seventh then rolled around the edge of the hole before disappearing back down the hill. But after about an hour I finally managed to sink it on shot 22 to ironic cheers from the gallery!!
It was now becoming a three horse race between Mikey, Pete and surprise leader Toe-punt Darren. Darren ended up in the bunker on the next hole but recovered well for a good 4, while Mikey and Pete kept in touch with a 5 each. So the final three holes would decide the winner!
My concern was trying to avoid the wooden spoon but barring a late collapse of Biblical proportions from Eddie and Nicky, this was an honour which was looking unavoidable! Just as well my ego is small enough to allow it. I mean can you imagine the face on Damo, Pete or Eddie if they had finished last??!!
The final hole was a monster par 5 which suited Mikey and his massive defensive clearances. Needing to score lower than Darren and Pete to secure the prize, a tidy 5 was enough to give him the gold medal.
In the end Darren held off the challenge of Pete to finish second, while Damo finished in a very satisfying fourth. At the other end of the table, Eddie held off Nicky to claim fifth while I finished last thanks to that nightmare hole on the hill!! Even now, four days later, I am still waking up in a cold sweat seeing my ball rolling slowly back down the slope for the 15th time!!
So all-in-all a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours on a sunny, autumnal evening. The banter was flowing and the game itself is actually really good fun.
However, next time I will come prepared. Mikey, you have been warned...that title will be mine!!!
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