Buena Vista Golf Course in DeKalb now offers footgolf

DeKALB – At first, Kevin Beverley, a clubhouse employee of Buena Vista Golf Course in DeKalb, wasn’t too sure about having footgolf at his course. But after seeing all the smiling faces at Saturday’s grand opening event, he knew the new sport would be a big hit.

“I was pleasantly surprised,” Beverley said. “This really seems to be a good idea. Just seeing moms and dads with kids, playing outside and being active … you can’t beat that.”

Footgolf is similar to regular golf, but participants instead kick a soccer ball into a 21-inch hole in as few kicks as possible. And just like in regular golf, each hole has a par. Players can bring their own ball, or rent one from the clubhouse for $3. The holes are located “in the rough” and not on the green. Footgolf has 18 holes, two at each of the nine holes on Buena Vista’s course.

Luz Gilkey, a DeKalb resident, brought her son and his soccer team to try out footgolf on Saturday.

“One of our coaches told us about it, and we decided to come,” she said. “This is something nice we can do as a group and you don’t have to have expensive equipment.”

Jackson Harms, 10, was with the soccer team and said footgolf was a good opportunity to practice his kicking skills.

“It’s different, but after my first kick I knew it was going to be fun,” he said.

James Kitanga, a DeKalb resident, was with his son and the rest of the soccer team. He agreed the new sport is fun for the whole family.

“Our team just won their last game, and they went undefeated so we thought this would be a nice end to the season. And we wanted to try something new and fun,” he said.

Holly Young, 14, said footgolf was more difficult than she thought it would be.

“I thought the hole was going to be bigger, but it’s a lot of fun,” she said.

Amy Doll, superintendent of recreation for DeKalb Park District, said footgolf is becoming a nationwide trend, and more and more golf courses are offering it. One reason the park district wanted to offer it is to bring in more revenue, she said.

“Not as many people are playing golf, and that’s not unique to DeKalb,” Doll explained. “So the courses aren’t bringing in as much money and we wanted to find additional revenue sources to cover costs. Buena Vista is a good fit for this. It’s a sport for all ages. Kicking a soccer ball is easier than swinging a golf club.”

Scott DeOliveira, marketing supervisor for the park district, said park district staff visited a few clubs in Peoria and the western suburbs and saw how successful footgolf was there.

“The feedback we’ve received so far from those who’ve tried it has been very positive,” he said. “This is something we wanted to offer at a course, to open up another form of recreation for our residents.”

Phil Young, president of the DeKalb Park District Board, said the park district also is looking into offering disc golf at Buena Vista.

“The nice thing about this course is it’s very family-friendly,” Young said. “We have a driving range, a smaller green for kids, and now footgolf, all in one facility. We have to see how the footgolfers and regular golfers intermingle, but we hope they can share the course.”

Beverley said another advantage of footgolf is that he believes it will bring a different demographic to the course.

“We hope that this will appeal to nongolfers, so anything a park district can do to encourage more people to exercise and use the facility, the better,” he said. “We need to educate golfers about footgolf players, and educate footgolf players about regular golf and course etiquette. But for a park district course, footgolf is a really good idea.”

For information about footgolf, including prices and tee times, visit golfdekalb.com.