My entire life, I’ve been told that golf and shooting guns don’t go together, except on a list of super awesome things to do on a Sunday. Small companies across the country, such as Triple B Clays in Southern California, are changing that and quite possibly the world. According to their website, “All good things come in pairs: bread and butter, peas and carrots, Simon and Garfunkel and… shooting and golf? That’s right, “golf with a shotgun.”

The sport in short: You shoot clay pigeons on a 14 station course, advancing only after hitting the target, while driving from station to station in a golf cart. The game is actually a very realistic simulation of bird hunting. Clay targets may be thrown from any angle or distance to give the shooter the experience of real-live hunting conditions. The game has also been played in an alternative manner that involves one stand and 100 clay targets. The objective of this alternative version is to break as close to 100 targets as you can. Renegade versions, including one with up to 25 stations, are popping up in regions across the U.S.A.

Here is a video describing the extended history of the sport.

Golf with a shotgun, or sporting clays, is growing in popularity across the country. It has increased visibility via the Internet and new marketing strategies. Groupon and Zozi.com have helped usher in the golden age of shooting clays.

Overall, the sport is a healthy outdoor activity that can improve your shooting skill. The worst-case scenario in trying Shooting Clays for yourself is that you don’t get into the game and walk around the woods shooting a shotgun into the air for a few hours. Still sounds like a good time to me.

Oh, did we mention that the gentlemen at Triple B Clays will include lunch!? This deal makes me feel like John Kinsella in Field of Dreams asking, “Is this heaven?” The response, “no…It’s golf with a shotgun”

GWAS around the country…

Wounded Warrior Project Benefit Shoot @ Vernon National Shooting Preserve, Vernon Center, New York.

2008 Vermont Sporting Clays Championships

2009 Beaver River Sporting Clays Shoot in

And more, from the Asheville Tribune.