Competitive ambassador helps footgolf grow

It happened to Ryan Mahoney twice while playing a recent round of footgolf at Afton Alps golf course — once on the seventh hole, the other on the 11th.

Mahoney, a 2002 Wayzata High School graduate and one of the nation's top footgolfers, set himself inside the tee box before lining up his shot. With his wife and playing partner, Carly, and 2-year-old daughter, Brooklyn, watching, he blasted his Adidas Jabulani soccer ball 30 yards through the air.

Except the kick sliced right and 15 yards away from where Mahoney would have liked.

"You see?" he said with frustration in his voice. "That is what happens when I try too hard rather than staying calm."

Mahoney's calmness was on display in Argentina during Team USA's gold medal performance at the 2016 FootGolf World Cup. He is regarded as Minnesota's top footgolfer in a burgeoning sport that has seen 21 courses open in Minnesota since 2014. The game's rules are similar to golf, except there are no clubs or golf balls, just a soccer ball and one's legs.

Combining his love of soccer, which he played in high school, with his golf knowledge, Mahoney has burst onto the national footgolf scene.

Since returning from the World Cup, the 33-year-old is focused on the inaugural Minnesota Pro Tour, which concludes with a state championship set for Oct. 7-8 at a course to be determined. Competitors must win a tour event to qualify for the state tournament. Mahoney has won the first two competitions on the tour thus far. On a par-72 layout, he said, he tends to score about 7 under par.

Even while aiming to win the state tournament, Mahoney also serves as an ambassador and pioneer of the sport in the metro area.

After high school, Mahoney played a year of soccer at Northland (Wis.) College before transferring to St. Cloud State and concluding his soccer career. But in 2013 he discovered a Reddit video of people kicking soccer balls into large golf holes.

"I thought to myself this was perfect," Mahoney said. "I get to use all my soccer skills and golf knowledge, while taking care of my body and not going through a case of golf balls."

When courses opened up that spring, he played as much as he could before traveling to his first pro-am tournament in Florida.

While there, Mahoney realized he was far behind the national competition. But two years later, after watching lots of YouTube videos on the sport and practicing for hours each week, he qualified for the U.S. national team and represented America in Argentina.

The 16-member team traveled to the World Cup in January. As a reserve, Mahoney helped Team USA defeat Hungary, Holland and the host country en route to gold. He was the only Minnesotan on a team that included 13 Californians.

"There were so many doubters of the U.S., and us winning showed everyone we are contenders," Mahoney said. "Because on the world scale, we are the young ones."

Walking the fairways at Afton Alps, Mahoney sported his Team America polo and tall, checked red, white and blue socks. His ball marker was a near-replica of the World Cup gold medal.

Despite his success, Mahoney says Minnesotans' inability to play year-round puts them behind states such as California in developing talent.

Tony VanDemark, a friend of Mahoney's and director of the Minnesota Footgolf Tour, said while the sport is quickly gaining popularity, he hopes Mahoney's national success will encourage others to play competitively.

"[Mahoney's] ability and want to play were always there," VanDemark said. "He's gotten better at forward thinking, and he's a better player in the last six months even than he was in Argentina. His potential isn't capped."

But his national play has a price. Outside of the World Cup, he pays his owns expenses — largely travel and equipment. He works for Southwest Airlines, which sometimes helps with flights, but he's still invested a lot of capital into the game.

As Mahoney made a birdie putt near the end of the round, he mentioned joining a September pro-am tournament in Orlando. Like other pro-am tournaments, he'd make a family vacation out of it, this time taking his family to Disney World.

Carly Mahoney says it's been difficult recruiting sponsors. She says more funding will come as the sport matures, but until then, watching her family grow on the course is what matters.

"Ryan and I are both quite competitive, and footgolf gives us the perfect opportunity to challenge each other," Carly Mahoney says. "And now that [our daughter] is old enough to understand the sport, it is amazing to see her light up when one of us sinks a putt."