 A player about to swing at a park golf course in Eniwa, Hokkaido. | |
| Presence | |
|---|---|
| Olympic | No |
| Paralympic | No |
Park golf (パークゴルフ, pāku gorufu) is a form of golf played in a park that was invented in Makubetsu, Hokkaido, Japan in 1983. Aesthetically, it resembles a sport somewhere between golf and croquet. The competitive object of the game is to hit the ball into a hole with a club in the fewest strokes. At the same time, there is also a strong emphasis on harmony with other players (players of park golf are referred to as parkers)[1] and the natural setting of the course.
The founders of the sport wanted to keep it simple so that people of all ages could become parkers easily.[2] A single ball and club are sufficient for a game of park golf. Courses are relatively short and the physical strain of the game is low. The cost of playing is also low and the rules are simple. For this reason, it is a good sport for children and families. Despite this, the majority of the 700,000 parkers continue to be of retirement age.[3]
- ^ RJ Smiley. "Can American Learn Golf From The Japanese". Tee Times Magazine. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "IPGA Official Website". International Park Golf Association. 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
- ^ Maehara, Atsushi (2006). The Park Golf. International Park Golf Association.