by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
It’s one small step for Northland Park, one giant leap for the St. Joseph Park Board.
At the park north of CR 75, signage was installed recently for foot golf – a golf-like game where, instead of using golf equipment, one kicks the soccer-size ball into a large hole.
“How it’s structured is each individual hole, you kick a soccer ball into,” St. Joseph Councilmember Matt Killam said at a recent council meeting. “There are six holes.”
The 9-acre park is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and is located near a large housing development.
“It’s a fun thing for kids to do,” Killam said of foot golf and the park. “It’s kind of a younger community living in that particular area.”
The park also has playground equipment, basketball hoops, benches, a bituminous parking lot and trail, picnic tables and volleyball courts, but it will now include hole flags almost 6 feet tall.
“I thought maybe we were going to concrete them, but we decided to do the chain link instead, so you can actually take the flag out of the hole as well when the ball is kicked in,” Killam said. “But they can’t take the flag out and fight with it as well.”
Killam is working with Mary Bruno, a local artist, to beautify the foot golf signage, he said. Bruno designs and produces letterpress art at Bruno Press in St. Joseph.
“She is going to have artwork for each individual hole,” Killam said. “It will kind of tell the story of each hole’s par you go to, so it will kind of fit with the family, kids theme of the park.”
The St. Joseph City Council approves of installing signs and equipment so residents can play foot golf at Northland Park, which is located north of CR 75.
