The foursome of chirpy college students warmed up in the River Ridge course tee box , focusing on loosening their legs before taking their first shot on a par-four hole . Cody Seybold ran toward his ball , almost `` Happy Gilmore '' style . Then there was that unmistakable `` thump '' and a well-struck soccer ball arced toward the first green and its 21-inch diameter hole . Welcome to the wonderful world of FootGolf , a soccer-golf hybrid played on more than 257 courses in the United States , according to the FootGolf League . How FootGolf got started . `` It 's the same structure as golf , except you are playing with your feet , '' said player Connor Bush , wearing soccer cleats and baggy shorts . `` You still have to include strategy . What kind of green are you playing on ? Are you going to drive ? Are you going to chip ? '' he said . Because soccer balls do n't travel as far as golf balls , the FootGolf holes are shorter , averaging 157 yards on the Oxnard , California , course . While the weekday , 18-hole green fee for traditional golf at River Ridge is $ 38 , the fee for its ball-booting cousin is much less . The FootGolf green fee at River Ridge is $ 10 for adults and $ 5 for children . A soccer ball runs between $ 15 and $ 30 , and no tees or gloves are needed . `` It 's really not expensive -- great when you are on the college budget , '' FootGolfer Lloyd Mueller said while juggling his soccer ball between shots . `` It 's a great way to spend 2½ hours with your friends . '' At River Ridge , the FootGolf holes run perpendicular to and weave between regular golf holes , so both traditional and FootGolfers play at the same time . Frank Victor , a traditional golfer in pants and collared shirt , said the FootGolfers can be a bit of a problem when unsupervised . `` Some are rolling around the sand traps , doing cartwheels , whatever they want , '' Victor said . Footgolfer Alex Ondrejko jumped up and clicked his heels like a merry leprechaun after kicking in a shot from the sand trap to make birdie . `` Chipping out ( of sand ) you are not allowed a walk-up approach , '' Ondrejko explained . `` You just take one step and knock it out . '' When word came that FootGolf might soon invade the River Ridge golf course , Susan Sipes , the head professional , was uncomfortable . `` I thought it was a really crazy idea , '' Sipes said . `` Traditional golfers have had a hard time accepting this new course on their golf course . But it 's kind of like when the skiers had to take on the snowboarders . '' The FootGolfers represent a toehold on a new revenue opportunity in the shrinking golf business . There has been a net reduction of 643 golf courses in the United States since 2006 because of closures , according to the National Golf Foundation . Three reasons golf is on the decline . River Ridge said that in peak summer playing months , traditional golfers accounted for an average of almost 10,000 rounds of golf and FootGolfers averaged almost 900 rounds . `` At first , a lot of other golf courses , I 'd hear them kind of teasing me about having FootGolf , '' Sipes said . `` Now they are all asking me about it . How do they get it ? It 's growing like wildfire . '' It 's an inferno with its own rules and regulations , laws and language . As Seybold 's crushed first-tee shot landed and headed toward what he called the `` sidewalk , '' he held his head and grunted . `` You mean cart path , '' his fellow players corrected . The soccer ball rolled on the pavement hopelessly away from the hole , dooming Seybold to a double bogie . That 's two over par , an agonizing score to both the club swingers and the new era kickers at River Ridge .
FootGolf , a soccer-golf hybrid , is being played on hundreds of courses across the U.S . It is like golf , except you use your feet and a soccer ball . The game was created by two brothers who grew up playing football in their hometown of San Diego,