FootGolf officially opens at Deer Park, Howth Castle
One of Ireland’s first internationally recognised FootGolf courses is opening today in Dublin with three generations of the Gaisford-St Lawrence family of Howth Castle who will take the first official kick on the dedicated Foot Golf course.
Christopher(83), Julian(56) and Tomas(19) Gaisford-St Lawrence whose family has resided at Howth Castle for generations, will be on the greens this afternoon at 12 midday to cut the ribbon on the newest sporting facility at Deer Park Golf Course which boosts stunning views over North County Dublin.
FootGolf is fast becoming an internationally renowned sport and Ireland is taking the lead following the development of this specially designed FootGolf course situated adjacent to the Deer Park golf course already on site. FootGolf is a sport that blends two of the world’s most popular sports – football and golf. The rules are similar to golf – each hole carries a par and the aim is to kick a football into the ‘larger’ holes in as few shots as possible.
Julian St Lawrence says, “We were determined to create a course that enhances Deer Park’s reputation as a high quality facility offering a first class experience at affordable prices. We still have 27 full holes of golf as well as a short course and pitch and putt to choose from. This has allowed us to locate FootGolf holes in the centre of properly prepared golf greens. As we wanted to offer an 18-hole facility, we needed to build more greens. Work on these commenced in the late summer last year. These greens and the additional landscaping work necessary to make the course more interesting and challenging are now fully knitted-in and ready for a busy summer,” he said.
Deer Park FootGolf Course is affiliated with the Federation for International FootGolf which was set up to promote the sport worldwide and sets the rules of the sport. Through them it is expected that Deer Park FootGolf Course will attract players from overseas and countries where the sport is further developed. The Federation has assisted with the course design and layout and the St Lawrences’ are encouraged by their view that what they have built is up there with the very best in the world. There are also plans in the pipeline to host an International Competition on behalf of the Federation for International FootGolf later in the year.
Julian adds, “We are thrilled to finally be opening our FootGolf course today as it has been some time in the making. With the economic downturn, we have seen a drop in the number of people playing golf but FootGolf is a very inclusive sport that can be played by men and women of all ages and we think that this will entice more people to play. Of course we still have our very popular Deer Park Golf Course and it is open for business but now there is an alternative to golf for those who are interested in trying something new.”
The St Lawrence family has lived at Howth Castle since 1177 and the three generations are delighted to be offering FootGolf to the sporting public some 834 years after their arrival to the estate.
FootGolf will be available to the public from today May 20th at Deer Park, Howth Castle, seven-days a week between 8am 8pm. A round of FootGolf takes approximately one and a half to two hours and it costs just €10.00 weekdays and €13.00 at weekend with special group rates and family rates also available.
For further information please log on to deerparkfootgolf.ie
