LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – For the first time, the American FootGolf League’s U.S. FootGolf Open is being played at the Palm Golf Course at Walt Disney World.
The tournament started on Friday and will end Sunday. It consists of three divisions: men, women and seniors. Players from all over the world are competing in this tournament.
“You are competing against yourself and against the course, but at the same time, this is like a congress of footgolf,” said Piero Menor, the current Mexican footgolf champion. “You can talk to the Japanese and how they play, and maybe you learn different techniques. We are all learning.”
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Darrin Karuzas, the defending champion in the senior division, started playing footgolf five years ago.
“One day, my son and I were driving along and saw a sign saying, ‘Footgolf here,’” he said. “We pulled in and played, and I’ve been addicted ever since.”
He said he was excited to see Disney supporting the sport of footgolf.
“To be able to play at Disney World in this type of event is amazing because of the rich tradition here with not just having golf tournaments but the growing of footgolf. It’s an honor to be here.”
The world cup for footgolf will be played in the Orlando area in June 2023. Guests can also play footgolf on the Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course on select afternoons.
“Footgolf is a great way to get people out to our facilities and see all that we have here,” said Bruce Gerlander, the general manager of Walt Disney World Golf operated by Arnold Palmer Golf Management. “They get introduced to putting a ball in a hole. We’d like to think that we can translate some of those over to become full-time golfers and really get the full Disney golf experience.”