Does Genesee County Need A Speedgolf Course?

Speedgolf is starting to gain popularity and courses are starting to pop up in Michigan, but do we need one in Genesee County?

I am an avid golfer, and I should note that avid does not mean good, it just means I try to golf a lot. I've done glow golf, par 3 golf, mini-golf, and a number of other variations. The one thing those golf variations have in common is that they do not involve running at all. That's why Speedgolf has me so confused, because running is one of the main components of the sport.

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What exactly is Speedgolf?

Speedgolf is just like normal golf except for all the running, and the scoring is different. Normally golf is a fairly slow game where players take their time to focus and concentrate over every shot. This means an average 9 hole round can take up to 2 hours. That's not the case for Speedgolf, where you can play 9 holes in 30 minutes. In fact, the time of your round is actually factored into your score.

How is Speegolf Scored?

Scoring starts just like normal golf, but things get a little weird because you factor in the time it took you to play the round. The Speedgolf website gives a brief explanation of the scoring process.

In Speedgolf, duration of play is combined with the number of golf strokes to produce a Speedgolf Score. In Speedgolf, one stroke is equivalent to one minute of elapsed time. The goal of Speedgolf is to produce the lowest combined total score.

Where can you play Speedgolf?

Michigan's first Speedgolf course started offering tee times for Speedgolf just this week. Indian Trails golf course in Grand Rapids announced that they were an official Speedgolf course recently. They are the only course offering Speedgolf tee times right now, but I expect more to pop up soon.

I should point out that you can play speed golf at any course, but you will most likely run into other golfers, and be forced to slow down.

Recently I was golfing with my brother in Clare, and we watched three kids sprint their way around the course. While I don't think it's anything I would like to do, it actually looked fun.

So the big question is, do we need a dedicated Speedgolf course in Genesee County?