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The Power of the Second Option on Ski Slopes and Golf Courses
FlingGolf, tracking the trajectory of snowboarding on ski resorts from 50 years ago, has currently been played on over 3000 golf courses in 40 countries worldwide, and is nearing 20% of US golf courses played.
In the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, ski resorts welcomed a Second Option and a new community, snowboarding, to their slopes and that positively impacted their business, culture and even the sport of skiing, forever.
Over the last several years, over 3000 golf courses in 40 countries have welcomed FlingGolf players to participate right alongside their traditional golfers, creating over 1M rounds played, and that impact of this young sport, golf courses’ Second Option, is just beginning to be felt.
Snowboarding brought a younger, even rebellious culture, approaching the slopes with a sometimes irreverent attitude that made the initial years a battle with ski resorts. But by the ‘90s it was nearly universally accepted on ski slopes across the US, Japan and much of Europe. At its height, snowboarding accounted for over 40% of lift ticket revenue.
The FlingGolf community has taken a different approach, bringing a more mature but casual culture of fun-loving, athletic and appreciative players to what have been very traditional fields of play. It is the seamlessness of FlingGolf with traditional golf, along with an avid player base, that has made the spread of the sport as quick as it has been, and that will drive the growth at an even quicker pace moving forward.
With FlingGolf, like snowboarding but maybe even more so, families or groups of friends can decide which sport they want to play, and play it together. A family of 4 may have 2 snowboarders and 2 skiers and can spend the day together on the slopes. The same goes with FlingGolf and traditional golf. It is simply a matter of what equipment players choose to use: 14 traditional clubs and a golf ball, or a single FlingStick and a golf ball.
The result is that even in a mixed group, they can play the same course and walk together or play from the same cart. They are both moving a golf ball from tee to hole, just using different equipment and techniques to do it.
Who is playing and why are they playing FlingGolf?
Like most sports, there is a wide range of players in the FlingGolf community. But if it needed to be defined, FlingGolf player may be more likely to work a trade as sit at a desk, but not exclusively so. Veterans, doctors, firefighters, DJs, highway workers, active military, former college athletes, pilots and greenskeepers all play well together. In other words, players from every walk of life are finding the sport and making it their own.
New Swarm, the manufacturer of the FlingStick and parent company of FlingGolf and World League FlingGolf, conducted a survey of its players, asking about their interest in the sport. Here are some results that shed a light on the community.
What was the number one reason you decided to play FlingGolf?
§ 54% said: It looked fun.
§ The second highest response, at 13% said: To join golfing friends or family.
What was your previous experience with golf/golf courses?
§ 70% of FlingGolf players had played some golf before.
§ 30% had never played golf.
FlingGolf is bringing NEW players out to golf courses as well as many who had given up on the traditional sport.
When answering why former golfers, now FlingGolfers, had given up golf:
§ 44% said golf was too difficult to ever play well.
§ 21% said because of prior injury
§ 20% said golf equipment was too expensive
When asked how their new FlingStick had changed their approach to golf/courses:
§ 74% of FlingGolf players are more likely to visit a golf course than before they owned a FlingStick.
§ 85% of FlingGolf players said they got comfortable using their FlingStick in less than an hour.
Regarding golf course acceptance:
§ 93% of FlingGolf players had been acceptedon at least 90% of the golf courses they approached, including 87% that had been accepted on 100% of the courses they’ve approached.
And finally: 97% of FlingGolf players would recommend FlingGolf to their friends.
Resorts, Military and other Golf Course action promoting their Second Option
It is not just players that are growing the sport. Some Resort, Military and other golf course owners and managers are proactively bringing this Second Option to their customers, players and guests. PGA Pros, Golf Course Managers, Community leadership, and Military brass have decided to promote FlingGolf on their courses. Here are just a few examples:
Massanutten Resort (VA) has offered FlingGolf for several years and has grown paid FlingGolf rounds to 1500-2000 per year. That is pure incremental revenue generated with the offer of New Swarm’s FlingSticks in the Pro Shop. The resort has also given weekly clinics and hosted several World League FlingGolf tournaments.
US Air Force Courses: 30 Air Force bases in the US, Japan and Germany offer FlingSticks for their Airmen to enjoy on their golf courses, and allow FlingGolf play from veterans and others approved for those courses. Several Army, Marine, Coast Guard and Navy bases have also promoted FlingGolf on their courses.
Ocean Hills 55+ Community in Oceanside CA. Since the Ocean Hills Golf Club officially allowed players to create a FlingGolf Club in this small community, over 150 players are now part of the club to play FlingGolf and play and compete regularly at the course, as well as other courses nearby. Many of these players have either moved to a golf course for the first time in their lives, or are getting back out on the course with a FlingStick after a long time away.
American Classic Golf Club is a 9 hole family owned course in Delaware. It has created a weekly FlingGolf league, held multiple WLF Tournaments, and developed a strong local community of players, driving significant revenue to the course’s bottom line.
International Management
Concept Golf (UK) manages/owns 6 golf courses in southern England and we have formed a partnership with its leadership to create FlingGolf UK, a Chapter that covers the UK and some of Europe to promote the sport and distribute New Swarm’s FlingSticks. New Swarm and FlingGolf UK have created the Britain’s Cup, a World League FlingGolf sanctioned Ryder Cup Style tournament, where a Team USA has flown over to compete against a Team Europe in 2024 and 2025. This August marks the 3rd year of the tournament and in 2027, Team Europe will make its way to the US to compete in Delaware.
Chee Chan Resort in Thailand has recently introduced FlingGolf to their customers to create a more fun and family friendly atmosphere and attract non-golfing family of traditional golfers. They have expressed a strong interest in becoming distributors for the region and developing a Team Asia, and hosting a WLF Tournament some day.
The Players Drive Their Choice of Second Option: FlingGolf
In all, well over 200 golf facilities proactively offer FlingGolf, the Second Option, to their guests, members and customers. But it is the power of the player community that will drive the growth of FlingGolf over the next decade and beyond, continuing to match snowboarding’s rise from decades ago.
In 2026, after managing 10 WLF New Swarm Tour events in 2025, New Swarm put it out to the player community to develop their own tournaments in order to support the interest in regional play. (WLF continues to run 4 “Majors” on the New Swarm Pro Series Tour.) So far, the community has developed over 12 regional events in 2026 across the US, and even more than that if smaller events are included.
These Regional Tournaments are proving to be a fertile ground for newer players to experience the community, learn new playing techniques, and have a social and supportive experience.
Multiple Podcasts (like WLF Unleashed and FlingGolf Theory) and the FlingGolf Players Group have emerged as online resources for the player community to engage, communicate, meet up, learn new techniques and share FlingGolf stories. They are a phenomenal way for new players to the sport to very quickly become part of the community.
The FlingGolf Club Series has begun play starting with three initial clubs, with more in line to join. The Delaware Titans, Keystone Crew (PA) and West Virginia Highlandeers are made up of players of every level of ability to compete in a team framework, and designed to be competitive but fun and social as well.
In Conclusion: Snowboarding appeared as a Second Option on Ski slopes 50 years ago and changed the dynamic of that playing field from a sport, community and business perspective. FlingGolf as a Second Option is repeating that effect on golf courses across the globe. The FlingGolf player community, as well as the thousands of accepting courses and those promoting the sport, have just begun to create the same impact on golf courses that snowboarding had on the culture, sport and business of ski slopes starting decades ago and enduring even today.
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