La Verendrye kicking golf up a notch in Manitoba

WINNIPEG — The sight of flags and bunkers scream golf.

But the ball tells a different story.

“They’ve taken two sports, meshed them together and made a wonderful sport out of it,” La Verendrye Golf Club’s Darren Dundas said.

It is FootGolf – a mix of soccer and golf. The La Broquerie area golf course is the first to offer it in Manitoba. La Verendrye introduced the sport this year, hoping it will lure locals to the links during slow afternoons.

“The game of golf has changed,” Dundas said. “More people in the rural areas are now golfing in the mornings.”

FootGolf originally in the Netherlands and is now played on 31 courses across Canada.

“We’ve got a lot of people that are golfers and are trying the game and are coming out on a regular basis to play FootGolf,” Dundas said.

The sport is not only attracting golfers but also footy fanatics. Some of the province’s top soccer players have come to La Verendrye to practice their skills on the course.

“They’re loving it because they’re learning how to curve the ball,” Dundas said. “How to play the ball differently instead of just kicking it.”

The rules are exactly the same as golf. So is the course. La Verendrye has set up its FootGolf holes alongside its traditional track.

“Say your father wants to golf and you want to play FootGolf, you can go side-by-side and play the game,” Dundas said.

La Verendrye hopes to start a FootGolf league in the near future.