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How to Find Your New Favorite Hybrid Sport While on Vacation

Take these games for a test drive for lasting health benefits

a person playing flinggolf
Lacrosse stick? No, that’s a FlingStick used in FlingGolf, a hybrid golf/lacrosse game. Pick up these social sports and potentially enjoy the health perks long after vacation.
Courtesy New Swarm Sports
By

Jackie Perrin,

 
AARP
Published November 22, 2024

In this story

Floor Curling • FootGolf • FlingGolf • Padel • Archery Tag

You’re familiar with the pickleball craze, but what about padel, FlingGolf, FootGolf, Archery Tag, or floor curling? These social sports are easy to learn and offer players of all ages social connections, fitness, and brain health benefits. At parks and resorts around the U.S., you can take these sports for a test drive and potentially enjoy health perks long after vacation.

The paybacks increase when adults share these experiences with younger family members. According to the U.S. Family Travel Survey 2023, conducted by the Family Travel Association, engaging in sports and adventures with grandchildren on vacation creates meaningful opportunities for bonding, shared memories and physical activity across generations, from the youngest to the oldest.

“Just being active and engaged is going to help with muscle building and maintaining range of motion and all of those things that we want to prevent from declining as we age,” says Shannon Martin, a professor of occupational therapy and program director of the School of Occupational Therapy at Touro University Nevada.

In addition to increasing social connections and promoting heart health and endurance, trying a new strategy-oriented sport can improve your brain health, Martin says.

“The benefits of novel activity are really profound,” she says. “I think some things that people don’t necessarily always think of with these types of activities is they actually do promote cognitive functioning, especially some of these competitive sports.” 

Want to give your brain, body and social life a healthy boost? Take these sports for a spin on your next vacation.

Floor curling

a person is curling
Curling, an iceless adaptation of the Olympic sport, is a safer more stable alternative to ice curling.
Courtesy Rock Solid Productions

How to play: In the modified iceless adaptation of the Olympic target sport, the goal is to get your stones closer to the middle than those of your opponent. Players slide special stones with wheels toward a target. It takes skill, aim, and strategy to win.

The appeal: Floor curling is fun for people of all ages. At Massanutten Resort in Massanutten, Virginia, around half of players during the fall and winter season are ages 50 and up, and the activity is also popular with multigenerational family groups, says Matt Ream, the resort’s fitness and recreation manager.

For those with balance issues, floor curling, which is played on a flat surface, is a safer more stable alternative to ice curling. Optional game modifications include smaller stones, telescopic pusher sticks and delivery ramps, which Martin says will reduce back and joint strain.

Where to play: Crystal Springs Resort (Sussex County, New Jersey)

Details: Available exclusively to overnight resort guests on a complimentary basis. Open play at Grand Cascades Lodge is Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Reservations are required for all other times.

The Gwen Hotel (Chicago)

Details: Available to all from late November to early March on the hotel’s rooftop terrace, Gwen’s Winter Curl & Chill is $25 per person and includes one-hour of curling and a seasonal treat. Reservations required.

Massanutten Resort (Massanutten, Virginia)

Details: Open to resort and non-resort guests ages 6 and up. It’s $25 per one-hour session, which covers a group of up to eight people. Make reservations on-site or online.

FootGolf

people playing footgolf
FootGolf, a combination of soccer and golf, follows the rules of golf.
Courtesy American FootGolf League

How to play: Played on its own green, or in a “green zone” of the golf course, FootGolf is a combination of golf and soccer and follows the rules of golf. You begin the game at the tee box by kicking a soccer ball, and continue kicking the ball in as few shots as possible until you get to the green where the FootGolf cup is located. Kick the ball into the cup and you score. 

The appeal: “It’s very family-friendly. There [aren’t] very many sports where grandma and grandpa can go and play with grandkids,” says Laura Balestrini, CEO of American FootGolf League, who brought the sport to the U.S. with her husband, Roberto, in 2011.

“The senior players in our league are the fastest growing group,” says Balestrini, who estimates that there are around 300 courses in the U.S. where you can play FootGolf.

Besides improving lower body strength, Martin says the motions of FootGolf allow for a great opportunity to practice “single leg stance,” which is good for balance. 

Where to play: Players wear golf attire and indoor soccer or tennis shoes. No cleats are allowed. Tee times are available to resort guests and non-guests at the following courses:

Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course (Lake Buena Vista, Florida)

Details: The cost for nine holes (walking) is $25-$29 for adults, with a 25 percent discount for youth under 18. Use a course ball or bring your own size 5 soccer ball.

The Lights at Indio GC (Indio, California)

Details: $30-$45 for adults and $10 for 15 and younger. Ball rentals are $5. Optional carts are $15 per rider.

Shanty Creek Resort (Bellaire, Michigan)

Details: $12 per player, which includes use of a ball. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.

FlingGolf

two people playing flinggolf
Instead of a golf club, FlingGolf uses a FlingStick to move the ball toward the hole.
Courtesy New Swarm Sports

How to play: Games begin on the tee box and finish on the hole. Players depend on intuition to decide how they want to throw the ball with the FlingStick. Putting pads on the side of the FlingStick helps deliver the ball to the hole.

The appeal: Easy to learn, the hybrid golf/lacrosse game uses a single FlingStick and ball for every shot. It is available at more than 2,000 golf courses in the U.S, says Alex Van Alen, CEO and founder of New Swarm Sports, which introduced FlingGolf.

FlingSticks can be customized by weight or length, an adaptation that’s helpful, according to Martin, as making the sport accessible to wheelchair users. The game can be played along with golf, expanding the diversity of players who can enjoy a relaxing scenic golf course outing.

Where to play: Players wear golf attire. Tee times are available to resort guests and non-guests at the following courses:

Hyatt Vacation Club at the Welk (Escondido, California)

Details: The cost for 18 holes is $15 per person on weekdays and $18 on weekends; FlingStick rentals are $5 and carts are $10.

Massanutten Resort (Massanutten, Virginia) 

Details: $25 per person for 18 holes and $10-$15 for nine holes. FlingStick rental is $5-$10. Check the resort website for specials.

Skamania Lodge (Stevenson, Washington)

Details: $25 for adults; $15 for children 12 and younger. Price includes use of a FlingStick and three balls.

Padel  

a person playing padel
A padel court is enclosed with tempered glass and a metal mesh cage, allowing the ball to bounce off multiple surfaces.
Courtesy Brook Bound Inn

How to play: Padel is played in doubles with underhand serves at or below the waist, and scoring is the same as tennis. The court is enclosed with tall panels of tempered glass and a metal mesh cage, allowing the ball to bounce off multiple surfaces. Teams rally back and forth over the net until a team is unsuccessful in returning the ball, or a ball hits the glass or caging first without a bounce.

The appeal: The fun, rapidly growing rebound game is easy-to-learn and can be enjoyed by anyone – from beginner to serious athlete – says Whitney Kraft, racket sports professional at Brook Bound Inn in Wilmington, Vermont. Within 30 minutes, new players can begin to reap social and health perks.

A smaller area to cover compared to tennis and the lateral movements involved in the game will reduce physical strain and increase coordination, says Martin. Instead of concrete or asphalt, padel court floors are created with artificial turf and a sand inlay. “The anti-friction cushioning nature of that artificial grass is friendly to the joints and the body,” says Kraft.

Where to play: Brook Bound Inn (Wilmington, Vermont)

Details: Court time is complimentary for Inn guests. Rackets are available for use. Annual padel and pickleball memberships are available to all.

Caribe Royale Orlando Resort (Orlando, Florida)

Details: For hotel guests, there is no fee to use padel courts from 1 to 5 p.m.; from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., it is $75 per court for 90 minutes; from 5 p.m. to close, it is $94 per court for 90 minutes. Paddles are available for use at no charge. Reservations required.

P1 Padel (Las Vegas)

Details: The cost for 90-minute Try Padel Mixed Group clinic or Try Padel Ladies only group clinic is $10 per person and includes racket rental and refreshments. Private Try Padel individual and couples’ clinics are $80-$150.

Archery Tag

How to play: Played with foam darts that look like marshmallows and easy-to-use adapted bows, this combination archery/dodgeball game can be played many ways. The object is to score the most points or to be the last team standing, accomplished by hitting your opponents with darts, catching arrows in motion, and hiding behind barrels/bunkers to avoid being hit.

The appeal: This hide-and-seek target game rights historical wrongs by taking a widely banned youth sport and making it safe and appropriate for all ages. Focus, strategy, movement, and the inclusive nature of this activity make it a health-enhancing option for multigenerational groups, Martin says.

At Revolution Adventures in Clermont, Florida, which offers the family-friendly game to groups of six or more, you must be at least 10 years old to play. However, there’s no upper age limit. “You can be 120 and come here and play archery,” says organizer Robin Durbin.

Where to play: Revolution Adventures (Clermont, Florida)

Details: Archery Tag is open to day guests ages 10 and up. $85 per person for a 90-minute game. There’s a minimum of six people for a game.

Skytop Lodge (Skytop, Pennsylvania)

Details: Open to resort and outside guests ages 8 and up, Archery Tag is available from spring to Thanksgiving. The cost for a 60-minute game is $20 per person.

Woodloch Pines Resort (Hawley, Pennsylvania)

Details: Included with an overnight all-inclusive stay, Archery Tag is open to resort guests ages 11 and up. 

Jackie Perrin is a contributing writer who has covered health, travel, lifestyle, and business for some of the nation’s top consumer publications. Her work has appeared in Fodor’s, Gannett News, Next Avenue, and TripAdvisor.

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