Puntball.

PUNTBALL.

I was walking my dog around the much neglected pitch 'n putt golf course at our park when I came upon an old football. I was well into my sixty-forth year but I thought I'd have a kick at it anyway and hoped that I didn't fall down.

I dribbled it onto the 18th tee, teed it up, shuffled back a few paces and then ran and punted it towards the 18th green. It was a better kick than I thought possible and after a couple of bounces finished up in the green side bunker.

My dog and I walked after it and it was at that point that I had my eureka moment...........!

Why not abandon the course as a pitch 'n putt and turn it into a PUNT 'N PUTT [© 160404 patent pending] course instead?

The basic rules of golf would be employed but legs and feet would be the clubs. The holes would need to be enlarged to bucket size to allow for the bigger ball but the rest of the course could stay roughly as it is now. Bunkers, rough, a few more trees and maybe a water hazard or two would make the game all the more interesting.

The game could be played in all weathers either by individuals or groups. It would be marvellous for learning how to take dead ball kicks. The kids could learn how to bend it like Beckham and take the knowledge learned in negotiating the ball around dog-legs and onto the putting greens to produce curling corners, arcing passes and baffling penalties.

The idea is no dafter than croquet, synchronized swimming, curling or golf itself, and we all know how rugby started which led ultimately to the great sport of American Football. So why not give it a whirl?

There is little to lose if a pitch and putt course has just about reached the end of the line.

What's more, If this innovative game did catch on it could put Mansfield UK on the historical map of sport innovation.

.........Having reached the bunker I turned my right foot into a sand wedge and blasted the ball out and on to the putting surface to within two feet of the hole. The crowd roared! Mind you my dog was unimpressed.