Soccer Cleats 101 Soccer Cleats News and Reviews
We had an opportunity to check out the latest footgolf course in Sacramento last week, Foothill Footgolf. Being that I’ve become a pretty avid player of late, it only made sense to get out to check out the course less than a week after its official opening and the team there have done a good job with the design. Arturo Barragan is the man responsible for designing the Footgolf course.
First note, this course is built on a 9-hole golf course and the footgolf course is also 9-hole. This means you are likely to play your round really fast and I’d imagine most players will be done in about an hour. When you just want something simple to do that involved kicking a ball around (and the opportunity some some friendly competition if you so desire), this is a perfect course.
The key attribute of the course is the rolling hills, with several holes taking an up and down approach. There are some longer holes that you can definitely make the most of a downhill run on to get closer to the hole, including the par 4 4th hole. My preferred hole was the par 5 5th hole, which runs up and over a ridge in a dog-left style design. It is long enough to take 3 shots to get to the green, but even novices have a chance of making a par thanks to the sharp downward gradient that leads down to the hole.
Realistically, this is a pretty ideal choice course for rec style players who just want to get a feel for the game or experience it for the first time. Younger players will also have a ball playing it and the length will help expose them to developing their game without taking up a lot of time to play. Since it is a 9-hole, there is going to be a repetitive feel for more serious players – Haggin Oaks will be the solution when you want to take things to the next level and grow as a player.
Prices are $9 a round, $6 (ages 4-12) and $4 to play the course twice on the same day. We offer parties, see the attached flyer, great for year-end soccer parties. Best way to book a tee time is to call the course at 916-725-3399. The course is design for people with families and we encourage ages 4 and up to come out and play. Or, you can also find Foothill on Facebook.
Out of interest, who has had the opportunity to play a footgolf course to date, or who would be excited by the prospect of one in their neighborhood?
Choosing the Right Footwear
A very common question players have is what footwear they should be wearing while playing Footgolf. In according to pretty much all new FootGolf courses, boots with conical studs or blades are not permitted. In other words, you can’t wear boots that feature a FG, SG or HG configuration. The primary reason for this is to ensure the main golf putting greens are not damaged from players standing on them, something that can happen so easily without a player being aware.
At Foothills, you should be choosing between turf and indoor configurations. The image above gives you a better look at the choices you have, with images #1 through #7 being permitted. As you can see, these configurations are much more compacted and provide a more uniform pressure across the surface. These are some recommended choices, with many similar versions available for players to choose from. The above are as follows:
1. Nike Bomba Finale II ($109.99)
2. Adidas Mundial Team ($94.99)
3. Adidas Freefootball x-pro ($99.99)
4. Adidas 11Nova ($69.99)
5. Adidas Freefootball x-ite ($54.99)
6. Nike Hypervenom Phelon ($74.99)
7. Nike Elastico Finale II ($92.99)
The only sole I would be nervous about wearing is the Elastico Finale (#7). It is actually an indoor shoe with a much flatter base and it might not give you enough grip in the heavier grass. The other major factor that players might want to consider is some sort of technology across the strikezone.
