A GOLF club has become the first in the region to introduce a new variation of the game, which is gaining in popularity.

Stokesley Golf Range is the first club in the North-East and North Yorkshire to give players the chance to try the faster-paced footgolf which is already popular internationally.

Club manager Mike Bulmer said the idea had come from golf course owner Andrew Marsay, who experienced it for the first time while on holiday in Thailand two years ago.

He said everyone at the club had been keen to try to bring it to Stokesley and added: “I play football so I wanted to try footgolf straight away – and it really is great fun.

“All the staff have really got into it too, and it is a fantastic family day out.

“The rules are similar to golf. There are obstacles in the course like bunkers and trees to work around, and the idea is to kick the football into the hole, which is large enough to fit the ball, with the lowest number of kicks.

“Scoring is the same as in golf, but it tends to be much faster.”

Most rules of footgolf correspond with the rules of golf, and is played on golf courses only.

The first shot has to be played from the tee box, and to reach the hole, bunkers, trees, water and hills have to be crossed or avoided.

The first nine-hole footgolf tournament was organised in the Netherlands in 2009 - when the International FootGolf Association(IFGA) was established - and in June 2012, the Federation for International FootGolf (FIFG) was created.

The UK FootGolf Association now boasts about 35 clubs, but Stokesley is the first such club in the region to introduce it.

Mr Bulmer said: “We made a separate course for footgolf because it would be too chaotic to play it alongside normal golf on our par three golf course.

“Luckily we had some land that we didn’t really use so we made a nine-hole course exclusively for footgolf.

“It seems to have taken off really well; we launched on Sunday giving people instruction to the game, and at the start of the week we have had lots of groups coming to have a go – all the feedback has been that it is a fun game and suitable for all ages and ability levels.”

For more information visit http://www.ukfootgolf.com/home/ or call Stokesley Golf Range on 01642-714856.