Golf alternative has players flinging the ball down the fairway

By Steve Smith

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    SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — If you are one of those people that thinks golf is a little too expensive for your wallet, or it’s a sport that is too tough to learn, then you are in luck. There is a new alternative to the sport, and it’s starting to pick up a lot of interest.

“Fling golf is a mix between golf and lacrosse,” says fling golf aficionado Jake Anderson.

It is called fling golf, and it is a very simple sport to learn. All you need is a stick and a golf ball, and you are set.

“One stick for everything,” says Anderson. “You use the stick to throw the ball down the fairway. It’s used to drive, putt, and chip, all one stick.”

The founders of the sport come from a lacrosse background and took the throwing aspect of that sport and just moved it to the golf course.

“You can do the Happy Gilmore and just throw it down the fairway as far as you can,” says Anderson.

Fling golf is played on a regular golf course, and the rules are the same as traditional golf. The only difference is, you fling the ball down the fairway as opposed to hitting it. It also has great appeal to those who aren’t so good at traditional golf.

“I tried regular golf before I did this,” says fling golfer Rosie Flores. “I couldn’t even hit the ball, and I was like I’m done. This is much easier.”

“It’s something different, and we picked it up very quickly. As you can see, some of my buddies here are launching it,” says fling golfer Joshua Himbury.

“My drives doing this are going a lot straighter than my golf drives. I know that,” one fling golfer says.

Fling golf has been around for close to 10 years, but in the last year, Anderson says ESPN jumped on board to televise occasional tournaments.

“We had our first tournament last year in May and it was filmed in Delaware. The tournament aired in August, and it had multiple airings. A lot of people saw it, which created a lot more interest in the sport,” Anderson says.

The sport is simple—one stick, same traditional golf rules—and it can be played at most golf courses. Fling golf was also featured on the ABC show “Shark Tank.”

“I really like the idea of being on the course and having as much fun as possible,” Anderson says.

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