Memphis finds inventive ways to grow game

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The new Golf Bike contraptions started rolling Friday at the Links at Overton Park.

They are six-geared, fat-tired bicycles with saddles that hold a dozen golf clubs and represent a new paradigm for getting around the oldest public golf course in Memphis.

Meanwhile, a new, 18-hole FootGolf course is being readied to open Friday at the Links at Riverside.

Zigzagging across Riverside's existing nine holes, FootGolf players will kick a soccer ball into 21-inch-diameter, stainless steel cups under rules similar to golf. The fewer kicks to get the ball into the hole, the better.

The city of Memphis is shaking up its staid golf program in unconventional ways this summer at a time when amateur golf across the nation is in decline.

And Memphis youth get a bonus. This summer for the first time, all youth 17 and younger can play free -- walking -- at seven of the eight public courses. Links at Galloway is the exception.

Mickey Barker managed Galloway for nearly 14 years before taking over in November as the city's administrator of golf. Among the 46-year-old's first moves was to contact the Professional Golfers Association of America for ideas to make the city's eight public golf courses more successful.

A PGA official traveled to Memphis from Dallas and toured the courses with Barker.

"He said the biggest thing that we need to do is build activity,'' Barker said. "He said every successful golf course that he sees around the country has a lot of activity."

FOOTGOLF: What is it? | A mini version, too? 

So Barker asked himself: "What could we think of outside the box?''

Figuring to ride the coattails of cycling's popularity, what with all the new bike lanes and bike shops, Barker ordered four GolfBikes for about $800 each to rent to golfers at Overton Park on a trial basis.

If the response by cyclist Jim Cole is any indication, Barker had the right idea. Cole happened to be pedaling by Friday morning when he spotted Barker demonstrating a GolfBike. Intrigued, Cole stopped, pulled out his cellphone camera and started asking questions.

"It looks like a nice way to get around the golf course,'' said Cole, who also offered a cyclist's perspective on GolfBikes. "I think it's good for cycling, to see it branch out a little bit.''

Avid golfer Jon Hornyak stopped his practice chipping to ask Barker about the new kind of golf conveyance.

"This morning I was trying to decide whether to go to the gym to ride the stationary bike for 20 minutes or come practice golf,'' Hornyak said. " ... With this, I could do both.''

The relatively long time -- about four hours -- it takes to complete 18 holes is a big reason many don't play. The GolfBike may be the answer, Barker said.

"I think the walker who wants to play quickly, if the course is open in front of him, it really speeds up the amount of time you're playing,'' he said.

The bike-rental fee will be $5 for nine holes, in addition to the greens fee.

At Riverside, the maintenance crew should finish creating the last two of 18 FootGolf holes early this week. Riverside's will be the first such course in the Memphis area certified by the U.S. FootGolf Association.

Cost to the city was about $2,000, mostly for the large metal cups, Barker said.

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Like with golf, FootGolf will be free for youth under 18, and $7 for 18 holes for adults.

Barker routed the course with the help of Dan Kapsalis of Indiana, a board member of the U.S. FootGolf Association.

A soccer ball does not travel nearly as far as a golf ball, so FootGolf holes are about half the length of golf holes. That's why 18 can be fitted within Riverside's nine holes.

The FootGolf holes often cross the traditional golf holes diagonally. The holes' starting points are marked by cloth banners, which usually do not share the raised tee boxes of the traditional golf holes.

Overlaying the FootGolf course onto the golf course raises the possibility that players of the different games will get in each other's way. But Barker said Riverside will be open for FootGolf on the three days when Riverside is already closed: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

And on other days, he said, "we feel like they may be able to coincide."

The city's Parks & Neighborhoods Division has invited children who participate in summer camps at the recreational centers to Friday's grand opening at Riverside, 435 S. Parkway W. "We've also reached out to several high school soccer coaches and several people in adult soccer leagues to let them know about it,'' Barker said.

The idea behind both the GolfBikes and FootGolf is to show "golf is for everybody," said Mayor A C Wharton, who went to Overton early Friday morning to see the new GolfBike fleet.

"Almost anybody can get on one of these things and ride a bike and carry their clubs,'' Wharton said. "So you get the convenience of a motorized golf course but you are getting some exercise. You don't get much exercise jumping on one of the carts. "