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What is Footgolf? Rules, price & differences to football & golf

Footgolf is a game that works exactly like it sounds, delivering a combination of the beautiful game and the fairway for the discerning fan of both.

Built from key components of both sports, its roots reportedly come from an idea from a Dutchman, Michael Jansen, who was inspired by former footballer Willem Korsten.

The latter reportedly played a rudimentary variation during training sessions with Tottenham, inspiring the first tournament of the game to be held in 2008.

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Over a decade on and it is an internationally recognised sport - but what are its rules and how much does it cost to play?

What are the rules of footgolf?

The portmanteau precision sport effectively takes the majority of the typical mechanics from golf, from teeing off to bunkers, with a couple of big differences.

Firstly, the golf ball is replaced by a regulation football, which must be deposited into a 'footgolf cup' while secondly, the club is replaced by the player's foot.

A single kick is the same as a stroke in golf and similar rules apply, in that the individual who takes the least amount of kicks to finish a hole, and the course, is the winner.

Each hole has an average par of five, meaning a typical 18-hole course would be completed in at a par of 90, for example.

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It comfortably shares more rules with golf than football on the whole, given that there is no opposing team to score past, no offside rules and no penalty kicks.

The American Footgolf League also have rules on the attire too, namely that they should be adhered to the local golf course where the game is played, with many of the sport's rounds taking place on existing greens.

How much does footgolf cost?

In the UK, footgolf costs between £5 and £10 per person depending on both the length and location of the course played and the number of players involved. As an individual, a typical full round of 18 holes in Greater London costs in the upper regions of the price bracket.

In the US, the average playing fee costs around $17, according to the American Footgolf League.

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