For Immediate Release June 2, 2014
Lace up Your Tennis Shoes; FootGolf is French Lick Resort’s Newest Sport
FRENCH LICK, IN (June 2, 2014) – Head out to the Valley Links Golf Course and you just might find soccer balls in play, instead of golf balls. FootGolf, as it’s called, is French Lick’s latest family-friendly sport. “It’s basically golf with a soccer ball,” says the father of North American FootGolf, Roberto Ballestrini. “Instead of clubs you use your foot. What could be easier and more fun than that?!”
A FootGolf hole looks a regular golf hole, complete with flag, only bigger. “21 inches lets the soccer ball drop into the hole even with the flag in it,” says Roberto. “That way a FootGolfer can play the game alone without someone tending the pin.” But far and away, it’s been families swarming the FootGolf course with over 100 rounds played in the first month alone.
The FootGolf holes themselves are not on the green. They’re typically located to the side of the fairway near the green. “We can have FootGolfers and regular golfers out on the course at the same time. The rules and courtesies of both games are the same,” says Dave Harner, Director of Golf. “So far they’ve co-existed beautifully.” Serious golfers also have two legendary 18-hole courses to play at French Lick Resort.
The FootGolf tees on Valley Links are closer to the hole than most of the golf tee areas. Theoretically, most people can’t kick a soccer ball as far as most golfers drive a golf ball.
So does that mean soccer players have an advantage? Not so says Bellastrini, who loves both games. “The soccer player is used to playing on a flat pitch (field) and kicking to teammates, always in motion. He might kick it further but there’s more to this game. The golfer trains to go at a stationary target, learns how to read the roll of the terrain, and think about where he wants the ball to stop.”
A round of FootGolf is $15 a person without a cart and $20 with cart included. Tee times can be reserved on the Valley Links Course by calling 888-936-9360.
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About French Lick Resort French Lick Resort is a $500 million historic restoration and casino development project that includes the West Baden Springs Hotel, French Lick Springs Hotel and the new French Lick Casino. This premier resort and casino destination in Southern Indiana features 686 guest rooms and suites; a 51,000-square-foot, single-level casino; 63 holes of golf, including the fully restored 1917-designed Donald Ross Course at French Lick and the new, 18-hole Pete Dye Course at French Lick; two full-service spas with a combined 38 treatment rooms totaling 42,000 square feet; meeting and event space totaling 115,000 square feet and an array of dining and entertainment options.
Contact: Dyan Duncan Tessa Higgs Public Relations Manager Public Relations Coordinator French Lick Resort French Lick Resort 812-936-5926 812-936-5861 [email protected] [email protected]