FlingGolf, the golf-lacrosse hybrid invented Using a FlingStick to hurl golf balls on traditional courses, the sport has been played on more than 3,000 courses in 40-plus countries and appeared on ESPN. Van Alen is now building out its competitive infrastructure with World Rankings and a new governing association.

FlingGolf has also found unexpected traction in retirement communities, including The Villages, as its adaptable throwing motion offers an alternative for players who may struggle with a conventional golf swing.

Five years after a Shark Tank appearance put FlingGolf on the map-and two years after its emergence as an organized competitive sport-inventor Alex Van Alen is pushing the golf-lacrosse hybrid into its next phase. The sport is expanding overseas, building out its professional infrastructure and launching its own association intended to serve as its governing body.

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Flinggolf Finally Shed Novelty Updates

So, has FlingGolf finally shed its novelty status? Much like skiing and snowboarding coexist on the same slopes, the variant plays nice with traditional golf: same tee boxes, same fairways, same pace of play and zero course alterations or adaptations required.

The chief difference is that golf balls are literally flung down fairways rather than struck, leaving divots out of the equation-a feature that makes greenskeepers grin.

Van Alen conjured up the rudimentary bones of FlingGolf as a kid growing up on a farm west of Philadelphia, where he and his brothers routinely mashed sports together for kicks. Years later, he turned one of those childhood experiments into the FlingStick, a single piece of equipment starting at $129.

It resembles a conventional golf grip and shaft, except that where a clubhead would normally be sits a scoop-like channel that cradles the ball.

In capable hands, it can hurl a golf ball 200-plus yards while also handling more delicate approaches, with a striker pad on the exterior used for putting. The sport’s footprint has swelled since it first debuted a half-decade ago. Back in 2021, FlingGolf had been played on more than 1,000 courses.

Today Number Tripled Game Updates

Today, that number has tripled, the game has reached more than 40 countries and FlingGolf events have appeared on ESPN five times. Thailand is the latest addition to the sport’s growing country count. Chee Chan Golf Resort in Pattaya, set in the foothills of Buddha Mountain, offers 15-minute lessons to get newcomers up to speed on the quick-to-grasp game.

Unlike traditional golf's notoriously steep learning curve, FlingGolf is designed to get first-timers round-ready almost immediately. “They are promoting it really heavily and they are reaching out to other golf courses in their area to grow the sport over there,” Van Alen said.

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While FlingGolf's original marketing skewed younger, Van Alen says one of its more surprising pockets of growth has emerged at the opposite end of the demographic spectrum, with retirement communities providing unexpected traction.

“It hasn’t been our target demographic The trend isn't limited to scattered converts. Van Alen points to a retirement community in Oceanside, California, where a FlingGolf club has grown to roughly 140 to 150 players.

Part of the appeal, Van Alen believes, is that FlingGolf doesn't demand the repetitive mechanics of a conventional golf swing, allowing players with bad backs or other physical limitations to tailor their throwing motion to mitigate pain points.

“You are able to swing around any discomfort,” he said. “You can throw overhand, sidearm-whatever feels comfortable to you and gets the ball out there.” Scott McKnight fits that profile to a tee.

McKnight, 63, and his wife Jacque, 59, have been playing FlingGolf for nearly two years at The Villages, the sprawling Central Florida retirement community where golf is woven into daily life with 60 golf courses amidst the 33,000 acres connected So far, they've played FlingGolf on 12 of them, with flinging their way around the entire portfolio on their bucket list.

“I have always disliked playing golf, finding it too slow and boring. I also have a bad back which is very difficult to swing a traditional golf club, but Jacque loves the game of golf, so of course I play,” Scott stated. McKnight had a change of heart after catching a rerun of FlingGolf's Shark Tank appearance.

He ordered a FlingStick the next day. “The various ways to use the FlingStick allows me to avoid any motion that negatively affects my back yet making it more of a physical game. The other players with us love it,” he added.

The creation of World Rankings represents another rung on FlingGolf’s climb from fringe variant to legitimate competitive sport, giving its top players a clear picture of how they stack up. “This fires up the competition,” Van Alen said.

“These are players that really want to get better and climb the rankings.” Next on the horizon, Van Alen is spearheading the creation of a FlingGolf association, another step toward endowing the burgeoning sport with the institutional trappings of legitimacy.

The organization will serve as a governing body, support players and introduce a formal handicap system, while incorporating a more community-driven element than traditional golf’s governing bodies. “It will be more social than the USGA,” Van Alen said, pointing to planned social media features that will allow players to share videos and interact with one another.