SEQUIM — Shredding fairways is typically a crime, not an activity sanctioned by a golf course pro shop.
Cedars at Dungeness in Sequim, however, has added two GolfBoards, a new innovation that allows golfers to surf the earth and ride around the course in a manner similar to snowboarding, surfing or skateboarding.
“Even if you’ve never been into snowboarding or skating, never been into action sports, the ease of the GolfBoard is really for everybody,” Cedars PGA Director of Golf Bill Shea said.
“You don’t have to be super agile to operate it and have a great time.”
The device doesn’t change how the game of golf is played, just how players maneuver around the course.
A skateboard is placed atop a stabilizing bar connected to four wide tires that provide no-spin traction and ground clearance.
It also has a four-wheel drive-train to handle varied terrain, so golfers don’t need to worry about tracking down errant shots.
Golf bags sit safely attached to a carrier on the front of the machine.
The beauty and fun of using a GolfBoard derives, Shea said, from not carrying your bag and turning the board based on your body’s movement.
“[Cedars pros] Garrett Smithson and Chad Wagner both used them during the Boys & Girls Club tournament, and they enjoyed using them so much, they said it’s absolutely the best round of golf they’ve ever played,” Shea said.
The GolfBoard runs on an electric charge. According to the company’s website, it can go more than 18 holes between charges.
Players travel about 6 inches off the ground at a speed between 5 and 10 miles per hour.
“Everybody that rents one has to watch a six-minute safety video on our iPad in the pro shop,” Shea said.
Players will agree to safety terms kept on file for future use and learn how to get on and off the board, how to navigate and use the thumb throttle.
The learning curve is pretty short, Shea said.
“It takes probably three minutes of practice to get comfortable,” Shea said.
“I was a little hesitant and apprehensive at first, but I went up and down some hills and now I feel very comfortable with it,” Shea said.
The rental rate for the GolfBoard is $22 for 18 holes, $15 for nine holes.
Shea recommends phoning the pro shop at 360-683-6344, ext. 1, to reserve a GolfBoard.
The television-viewing public around Western Washington will soon see the GolfBoards cameo in a batch of new commercials for 7 Cedars Casino.
“We just redid our commercials for the resort, and Sonny [Sixkiller] and his son Tyson are on them and we have Sonny driving away laughing.
“We also put Garrett and his dad Glenn on them and they are also in the commercials.”
The GolfBoards join FootGolf in Cedars’ bid to spur more afternoon and early evening activity for the course.
“I think this will help us to fill up what can be a quiet tee sheet,” Shea said.
“The course gets underused in the afternoon a little bit.”
FootGolf is scored the same as golf, with players kicking a soccer ball from the tee to an oversized hole in the fairway somewhere short of the golf green, and encountering the same hazards as on the golf course.
The course plans a FootGolf open house Sunday, with tee times available after 1:30 p.m.
Cost for the open house will be $10 for players, with rental balls available for $4.
Attendees also will receive 15 percent off food from the clubhouse’s Stymies Bar and Grill and the Double Eagle restaurant.
To reserve a tee time, phone 360-683-6344, ext. 1
Normal rates will be $12 for adults and $8 for ages 17 and younger.
Golf cleats are allowed, but soccer cleats should stay at home.
Play will begin after 1 p.m., except for days with large golf tournaments taking over the course.
“With FootGolf, we are hoping to bring a bit of a different demographic than we’ve had before and get them out trying the game and trying our food and beverage operations,” Shea said.
He got the idea after speaking with his friend Dan Harrington, the current head pro at the Home Course in DuPont.
“They have put it in on their nine-hole course, and Dan explained how much business it was bringing in and the amount of revenue it was producing for minimal cost,” Shea said.
“There’s a big huge soccer community here on the Peninsula, too, but you aren’t running the whole time, you don’t need a net.
“You need a pair of sneakers and a soccer ball, and we will rent the ball if you don’t have your own.”
Shea reached out to longtime Sequim High School boys soccer coach Dave Brasher to help design the 18-hole FootGolf course on Cedars’ fairly flat front nine.
“Dave Brasher brought a couple of his teammates out, and he and Tom Harris, they laid out the golf course,” Shea said.
“The feedback from them was really positive. It took 2 hours and 5 minutes for six players [to play the FootGolf course], so it should be under two hours for a foursome.”
“We are going to start it with play after 1 p.m.
“Ideally, it should take the same amount of time to play the whole 18-hole FootGolf course as a foursome would to play nine holes of golf.”
A Cedars-produced, FootGolf-specific score card will have the sport’s rules and etiquette suggestions for those new to golf courses.
Course staffers also will be available to answer questions before play.
“At first, we will build a little bit of a buffer between a golf group and a FootGolf group,” Shea said.
“We will explain pace of play and common courtesy for those who have never been out on a course.
“It will be a unique experience. There will be some education there, but it should be pretty fun.”
________
Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
