Kevin Ward from Colchester achieved three UK Ranking Footgolf wins in a row at the Stonham Barns Footgolf Course. With the help of a hole in one on the 105 yard 18th hole Kevin achieved his best score , a 9 under par 49. His three wins at Stonham Barns included the Suffolk Footgolf Open which he won in June and the July FootGolf Event.

Regulars at Stonham, Chris Tranter and Darren Wheat, finished 2nd and 3rd with excellent scores of 54 and 55 respectively. 

The winner of the junior event was Charlie Tranter, Chris's son, with a score of 65. Click for Full Results

Stonham Barns FootGolf hosts eight UK Ranking events each year and the last event of 2015, The Stonham FootGolf Players Championship will be held on Sunday 11th October. Come and have a go at footgolf, the fastest growing sport in the UK. Open to men, ladies and juniors this final Stonham FootGolf event will offer some great prizes with the winner receiving the Stonham Footgolf Trophy.

For more information call Stonham Barns Golf on 01449 711545 or visit www.stonhambarnsgolf.co.uk

The 2015 British Open is being held this week at St Andrews, the home of golf. Its getting very exciting with two days to go and now with a Monday finish for the second time in the tournaments history. 

I have been working this week on the Golfzon Stand at the HSBC Golfzone. This is one of the busiest stands in the tented village at the Open with over 50,000 visitors in the week. On the Golfzon stand there were two challenges, Longest Drive up the 18th hole and a nearest the pin short game. There are three Golfzon golf simulators presented at the Doosan stand and in the HSBC Golf Zone, who are official patrons of the 144th Open. See more pictures below from the Golfzon stand.

Golfzon are featuring various programs for GDR users including Chip Shot Challenge and Longest Drive. In addition, it has installed another system in at the Rule, a opub in St Andrews which will be promoted and operated by GolfPunk Magazine, in an attempt to increase spectators participation.

The head office of Golfzon said in a statement “We are delighted to introduce the leading technology of Golfzon to The Open Championship. Golfzon seeks to actively participate in various golf tournaments and events around the world in order to enhance the global brand awareness and market share,” says Tommy Lim, Vice President of the America and Europe business division at Golfzon"

More about the Open
The Open has been played since 1860 over some of the world’s most cherished links courses and has produced a remarkable legacy of great champions. The Open has a remarkable heritage being the oldest and most international championship in professional golf and the Claret Jug, which was first presented in 1873, is one of the most iconic trophies in sport.

The golfing greats that has become the champion golfer for the year include Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Henry Cotton, Walter Hagen from the early days through to the modern legends such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy, last year's winner.

Looking forward to see who becomes the 2015 Open Champion.

Ian Haydon won the Stonham UK FootGolf Open with a score of 56 (2 under par). This was Ian’s third event at Stonham Barns and having finished 3rd and 2nd on his previous visits he has now has achieved his first win. In addition he was really pleased to have triumphed over his son Pele who has won three of the UK FootGolf events at Stonham Barn this year

Ian won on count back and with birdies on his last three holes achieved an amazing six shot comeback on Darren Wheat who was five under with three to play and when he bogeyed the last three holes he finished on 56 as well. In third place was Ian’s son Pele who scored a 57 (1 under par).

There were 11 juniors playing and the junior prize was won by 9 yr old Tyler Weaver with a score of 68. This was one of his first games of FootGolf and he managed to beat his 12 yr old brother, Max Weaver. Both Tyler and Max are keen golfers and currently in the Suffolk County under 12 squad and under 14 squad respectively.

This Stonham Footgolf event attracted over 50 footgolf players from around the region. This was one of six UK FootGolf ranking events that are being held on the scenic Stonham Barns golf course this year. Full details of other ranking tournaments around the UK can be found at www.ukfootgolf.com.

Footgolf is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK and combines two great sports, golf and football. The game is played on a golf course to larger holes (21” diameter cups) with a size 5 football. Players then play around the course kicking the football using rules largely based on the rules of golf.

Stonham Barns has achieved fantastic success this year by opening their golf course to both golf and footgolf players. Tony Dobson, the PGA professional and owner of Stonham Barns Golf Centre, has been amazed by bookings for footgolf and said “It’s a great fun new sport that everyone can play and we have plans to keep promoting footgolf to individuals, groups and for corporate events”.

The next Stonham UK FootGolf Open Event will be on Sunday 12th October.  This event is open to anyone, men, ladies and juniors and there are prizes for all the categories. Entry is only £10 and all players will receive a free goody bag with loads of gifts and a free round of golf voucher. All footballs and equipment are provided.

Anyone that would like to play can contact Tony Dobson at Stonham Barns on 01449 711545 or emailtony@midsuffolkgolfacademy.co.uk. For more information on FootGolf at Stonham Barns go towww.stonhambarnsgolf.co.uk/footgolf.

Amazingly a footgolfer named Pele (Pele Haydon) won the first ever UK Ranking FootGolf Tournament at Stonham Barns Golf Centre on Sunday 13th April. The event attracted over 30 footgolf players from around the region and is the first of a number of ranking events run by the UK FootGolf Association all over the UK.

Pele Haydon won the tournament by 3 shots after scoring a great score of 58 for the 18 hole event. In 2nd place was Oliver Riches who scored a 61 and in 3rd place (on countback) was Ian Haydon (father of Pele) who also scored a 61. The junior winner was Josh Driver who scored a 69 and the ladies winner was Emily Donnachie. We should mention the incredible hole in one achieved by Paul Dobson on the 7th hole which lifted him into the top twenty and gaining valuable ranking points. It’s the first hole in one at FootGolf achieved on the Stonham Barns FootGolf course since it opened last August.

Pele and many of the players are aiming to play in as many of the ranking tournaments as possible in a bid to top the National Rankings at the beginning of September. The leader will get an all expenses paid trip to New York to represent the UK and compete in the US FootGolf Open later that month.

Footgolf is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK and combines two great sports, golf and football. The game is played on a golf course to larger holes (21” diameter cups) with a size 5 football. Players then play around the course kicking the football using rules largely based on the rules of golf. 

FootGolf is now being taken seriously around the world, in fact recently the president of the US PGA, Ted Bishop, endorsed FootGolf saying that he was excited by the prospects of FootGolf as a way to bring people in who are into football and to give them the opportunity to go to the golf course, experience what it’s like to play round a course and maybe then come along and try golf. 

There are a number of UK Ranking tournaments around the country and all the details of these events can be found at www.ukfootgolf.com/2014-events/4582748787.

The next FootGolf UK Ranking event at Stonham Barns will be on Sunday 18th May.  This event is open to anyone, mens, ladies and juniors. All footballs and equipment is provided. To enter contact Tony Dobson at Stonham Barns on 01449 711545 or email tonydobson8@gmail.com. 

Call NOW to Enter the Stonham Barns UK FootGolf Ranking Tournament - Sunday 13th April - Tel 01449 711545

With the season drawing to a close, we are reaching out to all local footballers to try a new sport during the close season.

The sport is called FootGolf, and it is now the fastest growing “new” sport in the world. It is open to players of all ages, gender and abilities.

This is a specific request to footballers based within a 20-30 mile radius of Stonham Aspal, and the reason for this is that Stonham Barns Golf Club is currently the only UK FootGolf Association (UKFGA) approved course in your area. If you fancy your chances at being able to play a sport based on the principles of Golf, but using a size 5 football, and your feet, and you enjoy competing against friends and family or maybe you would like to take a more serious approach and enter competitions. Then this is the sport for you to try during the summer.

It is also a great tool for training, and fine tuning your skills.

Stonham Barns has been selected to host National Rankings Tournaments, and these will take place once a month, with the first event being held on Sunday 13th April 2014, entrance fee is just £10.00 and all players will get guaranteed National Rankings Points. If you fancy your chances at being able to take on a new sport at a competitive level there are prizes available, and the National Rankings Leaders will be selected to represent the UK in the US FootGolf Open, which takes place in New York this September (all expenses paid for by the National Governing Body for the sport, the UKFGA).

Please share this information with your footballers, as we would really like to increase the participation numbers for the sport in Suffolk/Norfolk, and we are looking for more serious players to get involved and become Professional or Semi-Professional Players.

If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to get in contact with me, or visit the UK FootGolf website at www.ukfootgolf.com

I have also attached a You Tube link to a feature shown on Transworld Sport from last year, where they filmed the UK Open Championships:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=451j2UhCI6Q

For more information go to our FootGolf page.

On Sunday 4th August Stonham Barns Golf Centre hosted the first ever Footgolf Tournament in Suffolk. This new sport is starting to catch on and organisers PGA Professionals Tony Dobson and Joe Cardy were really impressed by the feedback of the players who all really enjoyed having their first experience of this family friendly game.

Footgolf is played the same as a normal round of golf, but the player kicks a football around the course and into a hole which is much larger (21”) obviously to allow the ball to fit into the hole. The game, which is played using rules very similar to golf, can be played and enjoyed by everyone no matter what their age or ability at football.

This first event attracted over 30 players including some golfers and football players and the Men’s Winner was footballer David Howard who plays for Barsham Football Club. David scored a 31 (2 over par) for the shortened 9 hole course. The Ladies Winner was Lauren Applebaun, who is on holiday from the USA, who scored a 40 and the Junior Prize went to Curtis Miller, who came with his father for a round of golf and decided to have a go at the Footgolf.

One of the highlights of the day was a hole out from 50 yards for a 2 on the 9th by Stuart Brooks which helped him into 2nd place.  There were a good mixture of golfers and footballers who played. Of the footballers there were representatives from Bildeston Rangers,  AFC Hoxne, Felixstowe and Walton and Occold Football Clubs.

Based on the success and response from this event Stonham Barns have decided to hold another Footgolf event on Sunday 18th August 3.00pm-5.00pm. During this time the 9 hole course at Stonham Barns will be solely for Footgolf players! Everyone is welcome, there are no dress rules and footballs will be provided. The cost will be £6 per person for a round of Footgolf and £10 per head for those wishing to enter the tournament.

To book or for more information call Joe/Tony on 01449 711545 or visit www.stonhambarnsgolf.co.uk

To see more pictures from the day - Click here

Prize Winners

Stonham Barns Golf Centre is bringing a new sport to Suffolk. Here's a great quote about this exiting new sport "Footgolf combines the distinction, elegance and precision of golf with the passion, energy and fun of football in a marvelous new sport that's full of life” 

Founded in 2011, the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG) held the first FootGolf World Cup in Budapest in the summer of 2012 where 12 countries were represented in total. This new sport is now being taken seriously and interest is growing. But what really is this game about that boasts “our balls are bigger” as their slogan? Well, according to FIFG:

“FootGolf is a combination of the popular sports of soccer and golf. The game is played with a regulation #5 football at a golf course facility on shortened holes with 21 inch diameter cups.  The rules largely correspond to the rules of golf.  FootGolf as a game is played throughout the world in many different forms, but as a sport it is regulated by the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG)."

To understand the excitment about Footgolf have a look at this US video promoting the sport - Footgolf USA 

To have a go and find out more come to the Stonham Barns Taster session on the Sunday 4th August 2013 between 3.00pm and 5.00pm. For more details call Joe or Tony on 01449 711545.