New Game Is Close To Golf And Baseball But Not Quite -- It's Balf!

PITTSBURGH - Ah, there's nothing like the clack of the clat and the challenge of a tough putt on a crisp fall day.

But it's not baseball. It's not golf.

It's balf.

Mark Schuster, prophet and originator of the new sport, talks grandly of his fusion of baseball and golf. He's on a mission.

"We're going to change America," said Schuster, a computer technician from the Pittsburgh suburb of Crafton.

The sport's chief tool is the clat, a converted wooden baseball bat with the head of a golf putter inserted in the fat end.

Balf's batters, duffers - whatever - are called clatters. The nine-hole game is played on a golf course, which so far is still called a golf course. To tee off, players toss a golf ball in the air and swing away.

Similar to golf

The rules are similar to golf's. The pace is about the same and you can play anywhere they'll let you, Schuster said.

Miss the ball three times on the fairway and you add another stroke to your score. Land in a sand trap and you simply pick up the ball and bunt. Once on the green, clatters use the putter to hole out.

Too weird? Remember, that's what they said about frisbee golf and arena football.

"Nothing but prejudice to prevent the sport from really taking off," Schuster said.

Right now, it's mostly just Schuster and a few friends. But he hopes that millions will take up the clat.

The game has been profiled in the "Wall Street Journal" and on Pittsburgh television. And Schuster said a guy wants to put a professional balf franchise in Mankato, Minn.

Schuster dreamed up the new game after succeeding at softball and failing at golf.

A second baseman for the Crafton Shoes (8-2) in a local fall league, Schuster can't keep up with the avid golfers from the insurance agency where he works.

"But there's no reason why I can't just balf along with them," he said.

Purists might shudder, but balf's originator said he views the game as an alternative, not a competitor, to baseball and golf.

Jim Emrick, manager of the Club at Nevillewood near Pittsburgh, said balfers would have to take their clats elsewhere.

Baseball bats on the fairways would violate traditional golf's equipment rules. But Schuster might be granted approval to putt with the converted bat. Emrick admitted he's intrigued by the new game.

"It's a little crazy, but I like it," he said.

So far, golfers on local courses where Schuster plays have been curious rather than furious. Some even want to learn the game.

But the prophet hopes to subvert at least one sacred golfing custom - the 19th Hole.

Golfers play 18 holes in four or five hours and drink for two hours in the clubhouse. His new nine-hole game will allow players to balf for two hours and drink for five.

"People don't talk enough any more. We're going to change that," Schuster said.