{"id":1046111,"date":"2026-09-06T02:44:29","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:44:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1046111\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T02:44:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T02:44:29","slug":"delco-bucket-golf-group-looking-to-create-fall-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1046111\/","title":{"rendered":"Delco Bucket Golf group looking to create fall league"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Mark Twain spoke of golf, he clearly hadn\u2019t encountered bucket golf.<\/p>\n

Unlike its 18-hole counterpart, bucket golf is a no-pressure, relaxing, get-out-to-meet-your-neighbor walk in a local park, just ask the folks at Delco Bucket Golf.<\/p>\n

Richard Butts decided to create the group in March and is looking to create a fall league for those interested in getting some light exercise in a fun, enjoyable way while getting out in nature for a short time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, I was 63 and starting to look for things to do into retirement,\u201d he said. \u201cI saw the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DelcoDelco Bucket Golf organizer Richard Butts said they use natural challenges like trees and bridges in the places they play bucket golf. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Its Facebook group now includes more than 200 members, although most games average six to 10 players. Butts said he\u2019d like to get a steady two dozen or so at each outing.<\/p>\n

The Delco version of bucket golf has collapsible vinyl buckets set up throughout a venue. On Saturday, it was seven buckets at Rolling Green Park in Springfield.<\/p>\n

Special clubs are used that do not create divots on a greened surface and the balls are plastic with holes in them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have all the equipment,\u201d Butts said. \u201cNobody needs to buy anything: equipment, balls, everything we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spoke about the gear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see the balls. They\u2019re basically pickleballs,\u201d Butts said. \u201cWe like to call them the wiffle ball version of golf.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then, the clubs are specially designed so that they can\u2019t leave divots,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s important to note. We\u2019re not damaging anything \u2026 We are very respectful of the park. We don\u2019t want be kicked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BenBen Joyce takes a shot at Saturday\u2019s Delco Bucket Golf game at Rolling Green Park. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Rounds, he explained, usually take about an hour and the goal is for the ball to touch the bucket. Players are welcome to try to get the ball into the bucket for what would count as a negative stroke but the main goal is to have the ball tap the bucket.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quick, it\u2019s easy, it\u2019s noncompetitive,\u201d Butts said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s very casual. We would love to form a mini-fall league.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said there is no catch, there is no cost to play and they\u2019re not even affiliated with the bucket golf manufacturer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, this is how our parents did things,\u201d Butts said. \u201cThey just got together and played.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, he said, \u201cWhat\u2019s great is it leaves absolutely zero footprint. Not a blade of grass is destroyed. We play away from children.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said they can set it up at any length but they set it up so most holes are between 15 and 30 yards and are par 3. As they set up the course, it can and does change every time and they use natural elements such as trees as course obstacles.<\/p>\n

Butts said he\u2019s thinking about bringing tarps to serve as water elements and fake fur for a sand trap.<\/p>\n

He did say that the game is weather-permitting.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe balls used in the Delco Bucket Golf events are more like wiffle balls: plastic with holes in them. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Anyone who comes out to a Delco Bucket Golf meet-up are welcome and encouraged to use the equipment Butts provides for free and there\u2019s also no charge to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s completely free,\u201d Butts said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also open to all genders and abilities. While it\u2019s mostly for adults, the group has family days so that children can join in the fun too.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnybody can come out at any time,\u201d participant Meg Meehan said. \u201cHusband-and-wife teams come out just as something to do. It\u2019s free. It\u2019s a nice day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Butts agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of women,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have men. We have seniors. Our \u2018youngest\u2019 seniors are 84 and 82.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meehan explained that games are played as individuals unless there\u2019s a larger amount of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have a large crowd, we\u2019ll do two teams, depending on how many people show up,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then, we\u2019ll just split up and they\u2019ll start ahead of us and then, we\u2019ll just follow up 10 minutes later.\u201d<\/p>\n

The participants shared the love of their sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps get your extra steps in,\u201d Butts said. \u201cIt\u2019s a nice way to meet people \u2026 It\u2019s not physically demanding so anybody could play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meehan said she likes that she gets to meet people she didn\u2019t know in the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t need any skills for this,\u201d she added. \u201cNo experience necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FaithFaith Peoples takes her shot towards the bucket at Saturday\u2019s Delco Bucket Golf game at Rolling Green Park. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY \u2013 DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n

Faith Peoples, in fact, had never golfed before joining the Delco Bucket Golf group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great way to meet your neighbors and get some face-to-face activity,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s going to the wayside. After COVID, we don\u2019t have any community meet-ups. There\u2019s no face-to-face interaction \u2026 so getting out here is a way of kind of decompress, de-stress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet off electronics,\u201d Meehan added.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just meet your neighbors,\u201d Peoples said.<\/p>\n

Butts also noted that it\u2019s so little commitment of cost and time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn hour, hour and a half, you\u2019re back home,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, it\u2019s good to get out of the house. We always say, \u2018bring a friend.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

Ben Joyce, on the other hand, does play golf and he likes both versions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to golf regularly,\u201d he said. \u201cBut that\u2019s a four-hour commitment, $50 to $70 in greens fees. This is just you\u2019re here, you\u2019re an hour, hour and a half, and you\u2019re back. For someone who even likes regular golf, if you just want to get out and hit a quick few \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, he liked the pace of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just casual,\u201d he said of bucket golf. \u201cThere\u2019s no pressure on it. You\u2019re just going out, hitting and talking \u2026 It\u2019s very informal.<\/p>\n

Usually he comes with his 11-year-old daughter who loves it, he said Saturday.<\/p>\n

While on Saturday, they were playing at Rolling Green Park, they also play at Merry Place in Havertown, the Veterans Memorial Park in Broomall and Drexel Lodge Park in Newtown. They\u2019d love to play at Delaware County Community College and Rose Tree Park.<\/p>\n

Anyone interested in playing a game or having a one-hole demo, they can reach out to Butts directly at richard.butts@gmail.com or visit the Delco Bucket Group page on Facebook.<\/p>\n

They are hoping to start fall leagues and are looking for a volunteer to handle their social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Mark Twain spoke of golf, he clearly hadn\u2019t encountered bucket golf. Unlike its 18-hole counterpart, bucket golf…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1046112,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[47],"tags":[7282,1430,728,50,2830,62,11104,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1046111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-delaware-county","tag-golf","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-sports","tag-top-stories-dtd","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117221804817070580","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1046111"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1046111\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1046112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1046111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1046111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1046111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}