BREMERTON — Soccer is known as the world’s sport. Combine that with the most popular sport played on vacation and you get the latest in sports craze.

FootGolf is exactly as it sounds. The game is played the same way as golf except, like soccer, the ball is kicked rather than struck with a club. In place of the golf-sized holes on the green (4.25 inches), the “cups” are proportionally sized at 21 inches.

The game is played on actual golf courses, one in particular being Gold Mountain Golf Course in Bremerton.

“It’s a really cool thing that we have recently started doing; a lot of people really love it,” said Daryl Matheny, general manager of Gold Mountain. “It is set up so that you can play at the same time people are golfing.”

Golf, although popular amongst the Tommy Bahama-wearing population, has started diminishing in the number of players and golf courses around the world. Although the United States is responsible for 50 percent of golf courses worldwide, 623 golf courses closed in the United States between 2006 and 2014. According to the National Golf Foundation, the number of people who play golf 25 times or more per year decreased from 6.9 million to 4.6 million in five years.

Now, thanks to FootGolf, that number is beginning to rise again. More than 257 golf courses across the nation have adopted this sport, 23 of which are in Washington state.

“It’s a great way to get out and do something with friends or family that’s active,” said Danielle Scott, a former college player. “I played soccer in college and my dad is really into golf now that he’s stopped coaching, so it’s something we love to do together.”

Scott normally plays with her dad, or her fiancé and his friends, whom she loves to beat.

“She tries to beat me, but there’s really no contest,” said Scott’s fiancé, Scott Goodman.

Goodman also played soccer in college and he and Scott are avid MLS fans.

“I play golf too, with my buddies,” said Goodman. “This is just a little more active and sparks some more competition, which is something I always loved about playing soccer.”

At Gold Mountain, the cost for adults to play the course is $12, and $10 for kids. The course also offers the option to rent a ball for $5 if a player doesn’t have one of their own.

The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) and the World Golf Foundation have both acknowledged FootGolf’s contribution to helping golf courses generate more income and noted that it may contribute to the growth of golf itself.

“I think it would be ludicrous to think there won’t be a percentage of those people [playing FootGolf] that might say, ‘Hey, you know what? I think I’d like to try and play golf,’ ” said PGA President Ted Bishop.

Gold Mountain Golf Club’s FootGolf Course has 18 holes built within the front nine of the Cascade Course. It is designed so that both sports can be played simultaneously.

“I’m not really much of a golfer, except when he forces me along,” said Scott. “But this is something we both love and can do together and with our friends. And it’s just fun, especially when I win.”