New sports craze footgolf product of unlikely union

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

FIRST it was Speedgolf, now it is Footgolf. The world of sport is certainly changing. Yet, while the purists might scream heresy at such an unholy and somewhat unlikely union between soccer and golf, it just may be the establishment of these bastardised activities is the next evolutionary step in global sport.

In any event, the Footgolf craze has begun to hit Ireland in recent times, in no small part to the founding of such courses in Riverside (Cross, Mayo) and, more recently, in Loughrea. Added to this, the Irish Footgolf Association (IFGA) was set-up in 2014 to promote, nurture and develop the sport in Ireland.

And it has been quick to take off, which, when you think about it, should not be surprising given this country’s adoration of both its world-class golfers and the unyielding spirit of Republic of the Ireland teams, in particular, over the past 25 years.

Interestingly, the Irish No. 1 Footgolfer – if we can call him that? – is former Salthill Devon and current NUIG soccer player Gary Mullin, a native of Shrule and a former Republic of Ireland underage trialist alongside Irish international Anthony Stokes (Celtic) and the in-form Alan Judge (Brentford).

Mullin fell in love with the sport, which is believed to have been conjured up in Holland in 2006 and was officially recognised as a sport in 2012, on a visit to Westport. “I just loved the idea of it,” says the 27-year-old, who will represent Ireland at the World Championships in Argentina in January.

“I have tendinitis in my left knee so sometimes playing too much soccer and sport actually affects it. I had been thinking what could I do because I like kicking a ball around. How can I combine these? So, after that (visit to Westport), I ended up setting up Riverside Footgolf.”

Taking charge of an old par three course, Mullin commenced his Footgolf venture in Cross in June 2014, running it for two Summers, and applied himself to honing his own skills during this time.

Over the two years, he estimates catering 3,000 visitors were catered for at his Riverside facility, which, due to setting up his own social media company IonConnect, he has since handed back to the landowner.

“Through that though, I met guys in Dublin, Ronan Cunningham (IFGA President) and Cathal Jenkinson (IFGA Operations Direction). Ronan set up a course in Tallaght, called Footee, which was the first Footgolf course in Ireland,” he continues.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.