Opinion | How fungo golf saved my quarantine

Joe Perrino, Sports Editor

2020 has been an odd year to say the least. Luckily, with suddenly wide-open chunks of free time, my friends and I still achieved a somewhat normal (and safe) summer. It came in a surprising way; from a unique hybrid of baseball and golf, and all the jokes and memories that came with playing it. Whether it be “going big or going home,” or my friend Cooper’s beloved baseball named “Guibord,” each of us has a physical or mental memento to keep forever.

So, let me explain. “Fungo golf,” a widely known activity in the baseball community, is a game which employs the rules of golf but uses the equipment of baseball. A fungo – a long metal bat generally used by coaches when hitting infield or outfield practice – and a baseball are really the only items you need, making it an incredibly accessible game. Here’s how to play:

Rules and Objectives

Fungo golf is incredibly simple. There is only one main rule: the ball must come into contact with the bat at some point during the shot. While this may seem obvious, close shots and putting are rather tricky. We have found the most effective form of “putting” can be done by securing the ball at the end of the bat’s barrel with your hand, then swinging the bat forward and releasing the ball towards the target.

The objective, like golf, is to get your ball to the hole in as few shots as possible. The person tasked with selecting the hole also decides the par, or the number of strokes a player should get on a particular hole. However, these “holes” are often ambiguous objects randomly decided on the spot – an example might be: “Hit the green trash can, just to the left of the tree straight ahead; par 3.”

Green Fees

While green fees – the cost to play golf – at a public golf course may run around $20 a person, fungo golf is free! My friends and I rotated around several parks with baseball fields in our neighborhood. After playing about four times a week for nearly two months, we could prepare for the grass length and obstacles that awaited us.

Close Encounters

For some reason, smacking hard objects at high velocities around a public space doesn’t often sit well with the people using that space for its intended purpose. Certain encounters really put a damper in our operation at times. Most notably, a young mother taking a stroll around Las Palmas Park in Sunnyvale, California, with her child felt threatened by our game. She began recording and yelling at us to stop as children were in the area. We probably deserved that one.

As my friend Aidan likes to say on many holes, “I gotta go big or go home.” This usually leads to an errant missile, sometimes getting stuck in the middle of trees. But luckily, we haven’t hit anyone yet. Knock on wood.

“We’re Professionals”

As we played more and more, what was once “tough” became second nature. Scores started to lower. After about two months of practice, frankly, we were getting good.

Due to this spike in talent, we decided to make an Instagram account showcasing our skills to the world. After every match, the winner and their score would get shared in a post with a photo of them standing near an obstacle unique to the location. 

We got so good that holes in one from nearly 300 feet away, precise putts and masterful shot control became regular occurrences on our average Wednesday outing. It became a running joke between us that we were all, in fact, professionals.

Unfortunately, as some COVID-19 related restrictions have lifted and each of us has less time on our hands, our beloved quarantine pastime has fallen by the wayside. I find myself playing more actual golf and baseball now than its hybrid counterpart. However, when I look back at the strange year of 2020, I’ll always hear Aidan’s wise words. 

“Go big or go home.”