First it was Frisbees, and now it’s soccer balls.

Hybrids of traditional golf and other sports are cropping up all over: Disc golf took root in Maine several years ago, and “footgolf” is following in its path.

Like disc golf, footgolf is a cheaper and speedier alternative to traditional golf, and like disc golf, it’s drawing hordes of new faces onto the links.

“My wife absolutely hates golf,” says Dr. Allen Hayman, who owns Sunset Ridge Golf Links in Westbrook. “The first time we invited her out to play footgolf, she was really hesitant. But she came out and realized it was much harder and much more fun than she was anticipating. So she’s now hooked.

“She’s been out here at least five or six times. It’s nice, because I can get her out to enjoy the golf course now. That’s one of the reasons we opened this up – it brings in another contingent of people that wouldn’t use the golf course. It’s just a family-friendly sport.”

But families aren’t the only groups interested in footgolf. “[We get a lot of] 25-32, single guys here with their buddies,” says Mike “Smitty” Smith, Hayman’s general manager.

“The teen crowd is really big out here,” says Hayman. “We had a member who brought his 12- to 14-year-old daughter out, and after the second hole, she had social media-ed all her friends. After the first round, her friends had shown up, and they went back out – without dad – for the second round.”

Hayman’s young daughter, Grayson, just 6, is already a fan. “I like that it’s like soccer,” she says. “Soccer is just a fun sport for me.” Grayson has a lot of friends who play soccer, but none have also taken up footgolf yet.

Ryan Scott, GM at Riverside Golf Course in Portland, echoes his colleagues’ assessments: “We have seen some players who are regular golfers but for the most part the players that are playing footgolf are those who want to try the new sport. It is big with the soccer community and the millennials.

“The biggest demographics are the millennials and families.”

Of course, just like there aren’t actually only two types of people in the world – Beatles fans and Elvis fans – some golfers enjoy the game in all stripes, even if they lean one way or the other in the end. Jake Nichols, 23, a groundskeeper at Sunset Ridge, grew up on traditional golf, but was also a soccer player, and so enjoys a round of footgolf now and again.

“A day like this, might as well just walk around and play a little bit,” Nichols says. “Grab a beer or two – I don’t know if I can say that. Grab a root beer and come out here and play.”

So what makes Nichols lean one way or the other on any given day? “Probably weather conditions,” he says. “If it’s windy like this, I’d rather play footgolf, just because it’s easier to not lose balls.”

For every demographic, footgolf is cheaper (not to mention quicker: a full round may require only 45 minutes or an hour) to play than traditional golf. Footgolfers escape the overhead of clubs, and the irritating, ongoing overhead of lost golf balls. Soccer balls are, after all, much easier to find in tall grass.

Moreover, “greens fees” are typically quite reasonable. Sunset Ridge charges $10, and Riverside $15 for adults; juniors play for $12.

Footgolf is exploding in popularity. As yet, the U.S. Foot Golf Association lists only three courses in Maine (in addition to Sunset Ridge and Riverside, there’s also Great Cove in Roque Bluffs, in Washington County) that offer the sport, but that number is bound to change as property owners and managers realize its profit potential.

Smith, the Sunset Ridge GM, had such a realization a couple years back.

“A friend of mine for an organization called Folds of Honor, which does scholarships for disabled and killed veterans, for their kids,” he says. “He does a whole bunch of events in Indianapolis, where I’m from, and one of the events was footgolf.

“So my daughter and I went out, I was in Indianapolis, about a year and a half ago, went and played it. I’d heard about it, and I go, ‘This is something that could take off.’”

Hayman and Smith investigated footgolf further before diving headlong into the process of setting up a course. “We did our due diligence,” Hayman says. “We contacted a golf course out in California, just to see what it was like, how much impact it had on regular golfers.

“What he found is, he almost tripled his play-time by opening up footgolf on his course. What happens is, Maine is really a golfer’s paradise, because there are so many courses around. Just within, probably, a 5-square-mile radius of ours, we’ve got five courses.

“So no matter what you do for golf, the pie stays the same – you’re just stealing slices of the piece from other courses. This is a way to expand the pie. This is a new group of people that wouldn’t normally be out on the golf course.”

The rise in footgolf’s popularity has meant a successful season for courses that offer it. “Over the past three weeks, we’ve had some days where a third of our revenues come from footgolf,” says Hayman.

Hayman expects the sport to stay strong as the year progresses.

“Footgolf, historically, is bigger in the fall than in the summer,” he says. “Because once soccer starts up, the soccer club, the high schools, the grade schools and so forth, they’re having practice.

“It’s nice for the coaches to have another option besides having two-a-days; they can have a workout session, then come out to work with footgolf on precision and accuracy. That’s something we’ve heard from others.”

Riverside’s Scott reports a strong summer as well. “It’s been pretty steady this season,” he says. “Over the last few weekends play for footgolf has picked up.

“The South Course is first come, first serve so we don’t book times ahead. We do book tournament for those organizations that are interested. There are a minimum number of players needed to close the course for a tournament, same as we do for golf tournaments.”

Die-hard traditional golfers need not fear, though, that their course will be entirely usurped by this upstart sport. Managers are finding ways to deal with demand, though it’s easier for some than others. Sunset Ridge has a footgolf course separate from their traditional golf course. Riverside, on the other hand, sets aside specific times for fans of the new sport to come out and play footgolf on their regular course.

“We integrate the two sports on the weekends, when footgolf is offered,” says Scott. Scott says no conflicts have arisen between traditional golfers and their footgolf brethren. “We haven’t had any issues with golfers getting in the way of footgolf, nor have we had footgolfers getting in the way of golfers.”

Apparently, the etiquette associated with traditional golf has carried over into its younger brother.

Sunset Ridge groundskeeper and figurative footgolf pro Jake Nichols demonstrates his tee shot. In the background, Sunset Ridge owner Allen Hayman and his daughter, Grayson, observe Nichols’ form.Grayson Hayman, 6, shows off her footgolf putting skills.