By Brion O’Connor
In golf, an overhead or sidearm swing rarely signifies anything good. Typically, the shot pinwheels into a pond or nearby woods. But as more local courses embrace the new sport of FlingGolf, those odd-looking swings will become more commonplace.
“FlingGolf is pretty simple,” said founder Alex Van Alen of Ipswich. “It generally follows the process of golf – start at the tee, finish at the hole. But instead of hitting a golf ball, you use the FlingStick to throw the golf ball down the fairway and onto the green. Then you can use the FlingStick to roll or glide the ball into the hole.”
With a history dating back seven centuries, golf is a game of great traditions. Even though golf remains popular, many courses and country clubs are looking for ways to increase their numbers.
“Golf has taken a beating over the last decade, and the general consensus is because it’s hard to learn, slow-paced – takes too long, and millennials say even boring – and expensive, both in terms of equipment and lessons,” said Van Alen. “FlingGolf solves a lot of those problems because people can learn in a matter of minutes, well enough to get out on the course, and then get better as they go.”
Played with a traditional golf ball and a single FlingStick, FlingGolf is compared in golf circles to the snowboard, which revolutionized the ski resort industry in the 1980s and ’90s (the comparison is generally attributed to foBy Brion O’Connor
In golf, an overhead or sidearm swing rarely signifies anything good. Typically, the shot pinwheels into a pond or nearby woods. But as more local courses embrace the new sport of FlingGolf, those odd-looking swings will become more commonplace.
“FlingGolf is pretty simple,” said founder Alex Van Alen of Ipswich. “It generally follows the process of golf – start at the tee, finish at the hole. But instead of hitting a golf ball, you use the FlingStick to throw the golf ball down the fairway and onto the green. Then you can use the FlingStick to roll or glide the ball into the hole.”
With a history dating back seven centuries, golf is a game of great traditions. Even though golf remains popular, many courses and country clubs are looking for ways to increase their numbers.
“Golf has taken a beating over the last decade, and the general consensus is because it’s hard to learn, slow-paced – takes too long, and millennials say even boring – and expensive, both in terms of equipment and lessons,” said Van Alen. “FlingGolf solves a lot of those problems because people can learn in a matter of minutes, well enough to get out on the course, and then get better as they go.”
Played with a traditional golf ball and a single FlingStick, FlingGolf is compared in golf circles to the snowboard, which revolutionized the ski resort industry in the 1980s and ’90s (the comparison is generally attributed to former Stow Acres owner Walter Lankau).
“FlingGolf can provide a great stepping stone for folks to get out on the course and enjoy the social, physical and competitive atmosphere a golf course can provide and may give people an avenue to transition to the traditional game of golf down the road,” said Richard Luff, owner of Sagamore-Hampton Golf Club in New Hampshire. “As course owners, we have to be receptive to innovative options to attract people to our facilities.”
Unlike FootGolf or Disc Golf, which require separate courses or tee times and additional structures (such as Disc Golf’s baskets), FlingGolf uses the same fairways and greens and can be played simultaneously with traditional golfers.
“FlingGolf is a great alternative to mini-golf,” said Ipswich’s Bill Harrington, who is often joined by his three young sons. “A similar skill level is needed, but it’s much more fun. And it’s good exercise as long as you walk the course. My boys would run the whole course if they could. We could probably play nine holes in 30 minutes, but definitely under an hour.
“No one needs to have any experience to go out and play,” said Harrington. “You can pick it up very quickly and actually have a shot at par. That’s not possible with golf.”
FlingGolf is Van Alen’s brainchild. A Philadelphia native who came to the North Shore to work for the Trustees of Reservations in 1999, Van Alen made a permanent move to Ipswich in 2007. He brought along his love for lacrosse, which he played growing up. On a whim, Van Alen started tossing a golf ball around with a jai alai basket at local fields.
“I got about 80, 90 yards, and was able to shape shots with different throws and spins,” he said. “I decided that I could make a sport out of this if I could design something that could throw the ball 200 yards.”
Van Alen teamed with Fikst in Woburn and Tool Inc. in Marblehead to develop the proprietary FlingStick. The finished product was produced by Somerset Plastics in Connecticut.
“I established my company, PlusOne Sports, in 2013 to promote FlingGolf and sell FlingSticks,” he said. “I did a lot of prototyping at Candlewood Golf Course in Ipswich, so I’d say that was the first course that allowed it, and it’s a fun course to play on.”
After outings at Candlewood and Cape Ann Golf Course, Van Alen knew he was on to something. After unveiling FlingGolf publicly in February 2014 at a National Golf Course Owners Association conference in Florida, Van Alen put on his salesman hat, and started visiting local courses.
He soon discovered that many course owners and managers were eager to explore new ways to increase revenue.
“We have been looking for many new ways and new ideas to keep business growing, and FlingGolf was one of them,” said Kevin Osgood of Sterling Golf Management, which operates Stoneham Oaks and other area courses. “The idea that a veteran golfer could go out and play a round of golf, and bring a non-golfer friend who could play FlingGolf alongside him, was very enticing. I’ve played a few holes and practiced FlingGolf from the driving range, and it’s a new sport that anyone could adapt to very quickly.’
Luff became convinced of FlingGolf’s potential after Sagamore-Hampton hosted a business meeting that drew both golfers and non-golfers.
“The great aspect of FlingGolf is that it integrates so seamlessly with traditional golf,” said Luff. “The FlingStick allowed the non-golfers to get out on the course and play right alongside traditional golfers and still be able to enjoy the beauty of being on a golf course, as well as benefit from the great social aspects of playing golf without the intimidation or frustration that many first-time traditional golfers feel.
“The intimidation factor would have prevented non-golfers from participating in that event in the first place, had the FlingGolf option not been available,” he said. “Likewise, if you’ve ever tried to teach young kids how to play traditional golf, you know how difficult that can be.”
Just as snowboarding broadened the younger demographic on the slopes, FlingGolf is far more appealing to local youngsters than the traditional game.
“We first tried FlingGolf (the summer of 2016),” said 15-year-old Lucas Kubaska of Ipswich, who went out with friends Clayton Manolian and Charlie Eagan. “We were immediately attracted to the sport because of our extensive background in lacrosse, as well as our sub-par golf skills.”
“We loved the fact that it only required one club and a ball – if you’re good enough – rather than a 30-pound golf bag,” added Kubaska. “ We’ve all golfed in the past, and for active teenagers, golf can be tedious. A lot of sitting in a cart, followed by waiting to take your swing. With FlingGolf, the entire experience is much more interactive and lively.”
Van Alen was so intrigued with the FlingGolf/lacrosse connection that his PlusOne Sports has partnered as a sponsor with Major League Lacrosse, including the Boston Cannons.
“I think it is a great fit, because of the rapid growth of lacrosse in the region. And there are lots of local, publicly accessible courses looking for a younger crowd (to play),” said Van Alen. “They have lots of empty tee times these days. Lacrosse players are a natural crossover to pick up the sport, but also hockey and baseball. All of these sports have an element of them in FlingGolf.”
That crossover appeal, however, doesn’t mean that everyone is enamored with the idea of sharing the links. Snowboarding faced the same obstacle, as ski resort managers struggled to find the right balance. Sagamore’s Luff said he was surprised there was a discernable “resistance to change” when he introduced the sport to his staff and customers in 2014.
“Many had no interest at all in learning about FlingGolf, and thought it was a gimmick,” Luff said. “Like anything new, it’ll require those that question the validity of FlingGolf to see the sport in action and see that there is truly no impact on the traditional game or impact on the golf course itself.
“I think the future of FlingGolf is promising, but it’ll take time to gain a foothold,” he added. “Your traditional golfer most likely will not transition to FlingGolf. They enjoy golf as it is, and like the challenge of the traditional game.”
However, more and more courses have introduced FlingGolf and stock FlingSticks for rentals. Van Alen said he’s encouraged by the sport’s growth, both locally and nationwide.
“Our biggest hurdle has been convincing players that golf courses will allow it to be played,” said Van Alen. “People think of golf as what they see on TV, with Augusta and fancy, stuffy exclusive clubs. But the real truth is that the majority of golf courses are pretty laid back and fun. So we’ve spent a lot of time educating players that the courses will allow it, while also educating the courses on the ease of integration with golfers.
“When we started, we weren’t sure how the integration was going to work,” he said. “But because it’s so family-friendly, and integrates seamlessly with golf, we’re seeing a lot of golfing parents buying FlingSticks for their kids, then taking them out to play alongside them.”
For more details about FlingGolf, including North Shore courses that offer the game, go to FlingGolf.com.
Brion O’Connor is a freelance writer. Contact him at brionoc@verizon.net
