Golf 'variations' in Switzerland

The Emmental region of the canton of Bern has long been famous for its cheese-making. This is also the origin of Hornussen, from the middle of the 17th century. In fact, this sport crossed the border to Germany but only lasted a short time. And today, Emmental is still a "holy place" for Hornussen to exist and develop, when the land here is still vast thanks to maintaining the rural orientation.

A game of Hornussen has two teams, 18 people on each side, including one or more "Hornuss bullets" - flat round objects with onomatopoeic names through hissing sounds when flying. In play, the dealer uses a "Traf" club with a carbon shaft to hit Hornuss from the "Bock" launch pad into the "Ries" area about 300 meters long and 10 meters wide, like a golfer putting the ball on a stake and then shooting down the fairway.

This stitch needs to be on the frame and as far as possible, and the operator must swing the Traf precisely because its head is small while the handle is both long and flexible. The rest of the team lined up in Ries with the task of using "Schindel" - shields to catch Hornuss. It can fly at speeds up to 320 km/h and suddenly change direction.

Scores only begin to be counted when Hornuss crosses the 100 meter mark and must hit the Schindel, adding one point for every 10 meters. Normally, the group that caught Hornuss was wearing protective gear and helmets, but quite a few people went out to the field because they liked to take risks.

The Hornussen movement is so active that the Swiss have even won a national championship, of which Hochstetten is the defending champion.

"This sport is like golf, in that the shot is very far, but instead of putting in the hole, we have to hit the beer. Foreigners call Hornussen 'farmer golf'," Michael Kummer - Hochstetten member - said on CNN.

The whole of Switzerland currently has about 260 Hornussen teams, competing through several levels to filter the top teams for the national championship, with Hochstetten holding a five-kilogram winning streak. They are likened to the Bayern Munich team in German football, and Simon Ernie - Hochstetten's player due to his similarity in bodybuilding and point-hunting talent should be considered as Hornussen's Lionel Messi.