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As far as sporting weekends go, this one is pretty awesome with the opening weekend of the Six Nations and the conclusion of the Waste Management Phoenix Open – the ‘Greatest Show on Grass’.
Thousands of fans will have their eyes glued to both sports – but have you ever thought about what it’d be like to combine the two? Well, actually you can.
Rugbygolf was launched in France in early 2016 and made its way over to the UK later in the year, resulting in the formation of the UK Rugbygolf Association.
The aim of the game in this hybrid sport is to find the ‘goal’, which features a flagstick in the middle, in the least combination of kicks – or throws – possible using a rugby ball.
Here’s a rundown of some of the basic rules:
While still very much in its infancy in the UK, Rugbygolf has attracted a fair bit of interest in a similar way that Footgolf has and president of the UK Rugbygolf Association, Jon Osborne, says the sport has huge potential.
“Interest in Rugbygolf has been big and I think it’s appealing to clubs in that, unlike Footgolf, you don’t have to dig a massive hole,” he explained. “All of the equipment can be brought onto the golf course and then removed as easy as that.
“I believe it can really take off in the UK and it’s already becoming popular in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. There’s even interest in the USA, where rugby is starting to grow as a sport.”
Back in the UK, Casterton Golf Course in Cumbria is one many facilities that has introduced Rugbygolf – it did so as recently as July 2017 – and
golf course manager Ruth Kendal says it’s helped attract a new
demographic to the course.
“We’ve had Footgolf in place since 2014 and, with a lot of rugby
players in our area, we thought it would be good to introduce this,” she
explained.
“We spoke to UK Rugbygolf, the governing body, and a couple of clubs
in the UK that have it in place and, after getting their feedback, we
decided to get onboard in July last year.
“So far, signs have been encouraging, although we haven’t really marketed it properly yet. We’ve been able to bring different people to the golf course, such as stag dos, hen dos and other parties, some of whom have come back since to use our facilities such as the driving range.
“We think it’s helped break down a barrier that a golf club can be a scary, perhaps intimidating, place for people to come to and hopefully we can see an increase in Rugbygolf’s popularity in the months and years to come.”
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