Appearing on this week’s Zach Lowe podcast, the rising star declared he’s the best golfer in the NBA. Yep, that includes Stephen Curry, who made a walk-off eagle to win the American Century Championship, AKA the Super Bowl of Celebrity Golf, in July.

“Who is the best golfer among NBA players,” Lowe asked.
“Me.”
“You know who would be the consensus answer to this among fans who watch highlights?” the ESPN basketball analyst continued.
“For sure,” Reaves said. “I know.”
“Steph,” Lowe interjected.
“Yeah.”

Wow, that’s a bold claim.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by @austinreaves12

“Hey, I’m down to play golf whenever, wherever against anybody,” Reaves continued. “I love golf so much, I’d go play Tiger. Obviously, I don’t have any expectation of winning that one … but I would love to play against Steph.”

Reaves, who has a TikTok account named Hillbilly Bogey that’s dedicated to his golf adventures, added that the two crossed paths on a Bay area golf course during the Lakers-Warriors playoff series in May. But the two sharpshooters didn’t tee it up against each other.

“I actually saw him out on the course between Game 4 and 5 playoffs,” Reaves said. “He came and said: ‘What’s up?’ I’ve seen him play golf many times. He’s a good golfer.”

Yeah, that’s a bit of an understatement. Curry once shot 71 in a Korn Ferry Tour event and currently holds a +3.3 handicap index. Pretty darn good, indeed.

Reaves, who has estimated his handicap at around 2, also told Lowe that he resisted saying something to Steph after he and Warriors teammate Klay Thompson lost to Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce in The Match in June.

That’s probably for the best, because he should save any trash talk for the course. Come to think of it, has the next The Match been set yet?

Main image: Harry How

The post Austin Reaves declares himself — and not Stephen Curry — the best NBA golfer appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

There may be no bigger fan of golf in professional sports than the NBA’s Steph Curry. Which is why watching him celebrate a hole-in-one on Saturday in the American Century Championship will never, ever get old.

On NBC’s telecast of the biggest celebrity golf event there is, played each year at Lake Tahoe, Curry hit his tee shot with a pitching wedge at the 152-yard seventh hole at Edgewood and anchor Jimmy Roberts said in that moment, “It’s obvious he can play.” Curry posed like a tour player and on-course announcer Roger Maltbie said, “Boy, this is right at it if it gets there.”

It got there, all right, the ball hitting just a couple of feet past the pin and then spinning the short distance into the hole.

HOLE-IN-ONE FOR @StephenCurry30!!! pic.twitter.com/aMEMeVretq

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 15, 2023

The crowd went nuts, and so did Curry, who took off on a joyful full spring down the fairway, chucking his hat and glove in the process. The caddies and other golfers in the group—NHL players Joe Pavelski and Alex Killorn—were hilariously slow in trying to keep up. Curry leaned at the “finish line” of the flagstick, swiping it with his hand.

“A lot longer than 90 feet,” an out-of-breath Curry said in a quick interview with NBC.

“I am so excited right now, that is crazy,” said Curry, who had one previous lifetime hole-in-one. “I’ll be out of breath for the rest of the day, but for good reason though.”

It’s been a good week for Golden State’s four-time NBA champion. In Friday’s first round, Curry made a 40-foot putt on his way to taking the first round lead in the event using a modified Stableford scoring system.

The hole-in-one was worth eight points and Curry ended the day with 50 total points to be the leader heading into Sunday.

The post Watch Steph Curry make a hole-in-one, and his GOAT celebration will be replayed for decades appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

During Monday’s opening round at Shoal Creek, the senior was feeling so good about his second shot into the par-5 17th that he picked up his golf bag and started walking after it before his golf ball reached its apex. It was an absolute stunning move. Oh, and the shot was pretty darn impressive as well. Have a look for yourself:

Reaching the par 5 green in two.
Carding his second eagle of the day.

GregOdom Jr. is absolutely on ?. @HUBison_Golf #PGAWORKSChamp pic.twitter.com/rylaZuxO6d

— PGA Amateur Golf (@PGAAmateurGolf) May 8, 2023

So smooth. And efficient! Talk about helping with pace of play. Anyway, it certainly caught the attention of six-time PGA Tour winner and Golf Twitter’s King, Max Homa:

This is one of the swaggiest things I’ve ever seen a golfer do. He had the bag on his shoulder by the time the ball apexed and he stoned it ?. Aspirational feat https://t.co/dtGTelL6uU

— max homa (@maxhoma23) May 9, 2023

Yeah, that’s high praise. And, not surprisingly, the rest of Homa’s loyal subjects agreed.

Of course, this type of player reaction shouldn’t be too surprising considering Steph Curry is the Howard golf team’s benefactor. We’ve seen the Golden State Warriors star turn and start running back on defence as soon as he releases a shot countless times. (And they almost always go in when he does.)

So in two ways, we owe this moment to the two-time NBA MVP. Thanks, Steph. And thanks, Greg. Do that on the PGA Tour someday and you’ll be an even bigger legend.

The post College golfer pulls off stunning move, makes eagle and becomes instant Golf Twitter legend appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The next edition of The Match will not include a professional golfer but it will include four of the biggest names in professional sports.

Kansas City Chiefs teammates Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will face Golden State Warriors teammates Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on June 23 at Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas.

All four men are current champions of their respective sports. The Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl back in February, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35. Mahomes was named the Most Valuable Player.

The Golden State Warriors beat the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals last year to capture the title. Curry was MVP. The Warriors are now in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Los Angeles Lakers and lost Game 1, 117-112, on Tuesday. Curry scored 27 points and Thompson scored 25.

This will be the eighth playing of The Match, the last one played in Florida in December under the lights when Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas topped Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. This also marks the second time that the four participants will be from outside the world of golf, and the second time that Mahomes and Curry are competing. Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers beat Mahomes and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen last year at Wynn Golf Club. Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley beat Curry and Peyton Manning three years ago in Arizona.

The first iteration of The Match came back in 2018 when Phil Mickelson beat Woods in extra holes at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas. Woods has participated in three of the seven, including in 2020 when he teamed with Manning to beat Mickelson and Brady at Medalist Golf Club in South Florida.

The post Next ‘Match’ set: Super Bowl champs Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce to face NBA’s Steph Curry, Klay Thompson appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

We’ve got a deep dive on the 43rd Matches, including a unique sit down – in a pink flamingo no less – with American stud Brooks Koepka. Don’t miss our Ryder Cup “File” and “Dossier” features either, a fascinating look at everything American captain Steve Stricker must know to “whip the Europeans”, and the inside oil on how Padraig Harrington can help the Euros “spank the Yanks”.

Elsewhere, we chat with Trump Dubai-based freelancer Alex Riggs who has embraced social media to become an online tutor to (mostly above average) Joes and Janes everywhere and land a plum gig on GolfPass, the Golf Channel off-shoot owned by NBC Sports. The Canadian has even landed a role coaching NBA superstar Steph Curry courtesy of his digital profile.

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club professional Matthew Brookes has a series of stretches that will help you cool down and ensure you’re ready for your next pre-round warm-up, while Butch Harmon shares a simple tip to flush it off downhill lies that are commonplace in the Middle East. We also head to Glen Oaks in Old Westbury on Long Island, the private New York club nicknamed the “Augusta of the North” which is set to host the penultimate leg of the LET’s new Aramco Team Series next month.

There’s also a fascinating take on the triumphs and tragedies of trying to earn a start on the PGA Tour via cut-throat Monday qualifying. All this and much more in the September 2021 edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

All this and much more in the September 2021 edition of Golf Digest Middle East.

The issue is again free to our loyal audience. You can scroll through the ISSUU link provided or download the bumper September 2021 issue FREE to your favourite device for later. Alternatively, pick up a copy at your favourite club. Whatever option you take, we hope you enjoy the read.

The post Get the September 2021 issue of Golf Digest Middle East FREE today! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Build it and they will come. Dream big when you get here and Dubai can deliver on that futuristic promise too. 

You’ll likely be familiar with those uniquely UAE clichés, if not the reality. Just in case it doesn’t resonate, may we kindly refer you to Alex Riggs, coach to (mostly above) average Joes and Janes everywhere, even NBA superstars. More on that career slam dunk with Steph Curry later.

The 35-year-old Canadian is a case study in turning an unexpected ex-pat life in the UAE into a thriving career built on sound institutional knowledge, an interminable work ethic and a contemporary entrepreneurial spirit.

Riggs has spent the past eight years in Dubai building his coaching credentials, the first three at the then Butch Harmon Academy and since then as a freelancer, lately based out of Trump International Golf Club, Dubai.

A natural ease in front of camera has seen the father-of-two become a regular print and online contributor to Golf Digest Middle East and opened doors to endorsements with PXG, Hublot and Under Armour, brands normally associated with high-profile touring pros rather than driving range instructors.

That’s where Riggs is a bit different to your old-school PGA Professional. While other teachers have dabbled in the digital realm, Riggs has easily transitioned to online tuition to the point where it is now a “huge, huge percentage of my business”. “I’ve got players in literally every country I can think of, at least 50 different countries. They send in videos, I review it, devise a plan they can work on and then report back. It’s working really well.

“I was doing it a bit pre-COVID but now it’s very, very strong. The demand for online coaching has exploded.”

While Riggs is heartened by the uptick in beginners taking lessons in the UAE post the COVID lockdown, he’s found a happy niche with lower handicappers and fledgling professionals. The ability to easily articulate complex theory via video means he is also now being discovered by wider international audiences although his latest big break with NBC Sport’s ‘GolfPass’ came, rather ironically, via an in-person lesson.

“Rory’s agent, Sean O’Flaherty, was in Dubai in November and came to see me for a lesson and one thing led to another. He liked my communication style, the content I’d been doing, and said ‘we need to get you on GolfPass’.”

That wasn’t a huge stretch given McIlroy has a financial stake in GolfPass, a direct-to-consumer membership offering he’s partnered Golf Channel and NBC in creating.

It wasn’t long before Riggs was off to Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando to shoot his “Level Up Golf’ concept, a tee to green instructional series with tips and drills for high, mid and low handicappers. Chances are you’ll have seen snippets on social media, the very mechanism that brought Riggs to Dubai in 2003 not long after he’d married Claudine, herself well known in these pages as a golf fitness advisor.

Riggs will forever be grateful for the “super random” Facebook message he received eight years ago, enquiring if the newlywed couple fancied a change of scenery in Dubai given their seasonal contract in Orlando had been fulfilled.

“Outside of the U.S., Dubai is unquestionably one of the best places in the world to be in terms of opportunities. The demand for golf coaching is very strong.” 

Mentoring players at the highest level means a move to the U.S. is “inevitable at some point.” In the meantime, Riggs is happy to base himself in Dubai and travel the globe working with players, his brand partnerships and creating more creative content. As a digital native, you’ll always be able to find him online @riggsgolf, exactly how Curry, the Golden State Warriors talisman and sometimes Korn Ferry Tour player, discovered the boy made good in Dubai.

“Steph Curry connected with me on Instagram then dropped me a DM. He liked my content and wanted to work together. I spent a bunch of time with him on his game in San Fran on the same trip. I did five States in five weeks including doing some work with PXG in Scottsdale.”

Yes, that quote, Riggs assures us, is as surreal to utter as it is to read.

“It’s ridiculously, crazy how things have taken off. I’m incredibly, incredibly grateful to have been given these opportunities in Dubai. It literally opens up the world, the people you come in contact with, those opportunities rarely happen anywhere else.

“I just want to keep trying to push myself to grow as a coach and get my players better, even faster. I want to keep working with players at the highest level and I know something will happen [on the PGA Tour] if I keep going.”

So stay tuned. Or should that be logged on.

The post Meet the Trump Dubai freelancer whose online influence has led to work with GolfPass. And a NBA superstar appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Daniel Rapaport
It was the perfect day-after-Thanksgiving viewing. No one wants anything too serious when they’re still digesting the previous night’s feast, and this third edition of these made-for-TV matches—this one officially dubbed “The Match: Champions for Change”—never promised to be anything more than pure entertainment for wonderful causes.

It was certainly entertaining. Despite giving up some 16 shots in combined handicaps—at least allegedly, more on that in a second—the team of Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley dominated Peyton Manning and Stephen Curry on the type of cloudless late-November Arizona day that has you wondering why you don’t live out West.

Most importantly, the broadcast raised $5,455,000 for historically black colleges and universities, and will result in more than 3.7 million meals donated to those in need.

After losing the first hole, Team Barkleson won the next four in a row and never looked back, eventually cruising to a 4-and-3 victory at Stone Canyon just outside of Tucson. Here are six takeaways from a lighthearted afternoon.

Christian Petersen
Phil Mickelson putts on the second green as Peyton Manning and Stephen Curry look on.

PGA Tour pros are really, disgustingly, insanely good
This is not new information, of course. We know damn well that PGA Tour players are among the best golfers in the world. Moreover, we know that Mickelson is a legend of the game. And yet, Mickelson and Barkley were underdogs coming into this match. We’d guess the oddsmakers’ reasoning went something like this: The modified alternate-shot format (also known as Pinehurst) meant Mickelson would have to play more than a few of Barkley’s shots, and Barkley is an absolutely horrible golfer, while the other team features two pretty darned good golfers.

Turns out, if only one team in a golf match has a PGA Tour pro, you should back the team with the PGA Tour pro.

Mickelson did indeed have to play a number of Barkley’s shots, but it didn’t matter. He was able to limit the damage and often put Barkley in spots where he just had to lag a putt close enough for Phil to make it. Granted, Curry played pretty awfully for a plus-handicap, and Barkley did hit some good ones. And, of course, hindsight is 20/20. But looking back, those pre-match odds were something of a headscratcher.

Christian Petersen
Stephen Curry plays his shot from the 10th tee.

One bad round doesn’t mean Stephen Curry can’t play to his handicap
Curry did not play well. That much is indisputable. What’s also indisputable is that one round does not a golfer make. In other words, just because Curry played awful on Friday does not mean he’s some sort of vanity handicapper. Who knows how much he’s been playing lately? Recall that Curry broke his wrist just 13 months ago, and you have to think the doctor cautioned against playing a bunch of golf during the rehab process.

The odds are Curry hasn’t been playing as much as he had in the run-up to his two starts in professional events. In those events, he shot 74-74-71-86. He clearly has game, even it didn’t show up on Friday.

Christian Petersen
Charles Barkley was all smiles after he and Phil Mickelson defeated Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning in The Match.

If Charles Barkley doesn’t crack you up, check yourself

Charles Barkley is ready to call it before the turn. ? pic.twitter.com/RNjRV0YpmO

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 27, 2020

Barkley may be the funniest character on television. And it’s not just that he himself is funny, it’s that he inspires absolutely hilarious banter and trash talk from the people around him.

Some greatest hits from Friday:

—After going 4 up through 7, Barkley told the announcers to “Call Jeff Zucker and Craig Berry, tell them to get some of those ‘Law and Order’ re-runs ready in about five more holes.”

—Peyton Manning giving Barkley the following swing tip: “Open the fridge door, close the fridge door.”

—Shaquille O’Neal, who made one of a number of delightful cameo appearances on the broadcast, asking Charles, “If you can’t read words, how you gonna read the greens?”

But the funniest thing from the day, at least in this writer’s humble opinion, came courtesy of Curry’s former teammate/frequent playing partner, Andre Iguodala. After each of Curry’s many poor shots, Iguodala would simply whisper into his mic, “plus one.” That’s the kind of needling we always love to see on a golf course.

Teased unmercifully through the years for the terrible hitch in his swing, Barkley apparently has rid himself of it, and Mickelson figured out in a practide round that the best strategy was to have Chuck hit irons off of every hole, including par 5s. It worked especiallly well early, and Barkley also contributed a couple of times with impressive lag putts that were better than even Curry could manage.

Tiger was missed
There was one notable absence from this Match, as it relates to the first two: namely, Tiger Woods.

Now, the first iteration of this series was the $9 million match between Woods and Mickelson at Shadow Creek. That broadcast was dripping awkwardness, the golf was subpar, and it seemed the entire operation didn’t know if it was a serious golf match or entertainment. The second edition, which pitted Woods and Manning against Mickelson and Tom Brady, was a huge hit—largely due to Tiger.

Surely Woods brought at least half the eyeballs, because any time Woods plays, people watch. But it’s more than that—Woods’ interplay with Mickelson, his greatest rival throughout his career, was fascinating, as were his conversations with two of the best quarterbacks of all time. Plus, he played extremely well that day, which is always extra nice to see at this stage of his career. You can’t fault this broadcast for not having Tiger, but you couldn’t help wishing he was there.

A really wild golf course
In a commercial that ran during the broadcast, Mickelson put it simply: “I loved this club so much, I bought it.” What he bought was a dramatic piece of property and a somewhat bizarre golf course. Every shot seemed to be blind, there were long drives between seemingly every green and tee, and some of the tee boxes looked like genuine safety hazards.

This tee box at Stone Canyon. ? #CapitalOnesTheMatch pic.twitter.com/CPjxfVIhAG

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) November 27, 2020

In a way, it was the perfect venue for this distinctly un-serious event.

A fantastic cause
Golf’s long history of exclusion is no secret, so it’s terrific to see the game make an effort to reach and help people it has shunned for decades. And this follows Augusta National’s commitment to fully fund the woman’s golf program at an HBCU. Of course, it does not in any way mitigate golf’s ugly past on these issues, but it’s never too late to start doing the right thing. Finally, golf seems to have realised that.

The post The Match 3 entertained with chuckles more than great golf shots appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

In the Detroit inner-city neighbourhood in which Bettis grew up in the 1970s and ’80s, there was one Black man who played golf. He cut Bettis’ hair, and he managed one day to cajole the hulking kid who would become a Hall of Fame football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers to accompany him to the driving range. The barber so loved the game that he opened his shop at dawn so that he could flip the “Closed” sign early and squeeze in a round, or even a few holes, before dark.

Bettis went mostly out of courtesy. He’d never been to a golf course. No one but the barber ever said a word about the sport. Even bowling was more familiar because his mother taught it to her boys and the other kids in the neighbourhood. Safe and indoors, it kept them out of trouble.

That first driving range experience for Bettis did not go well. Golf was hard. In football, he exploded through people as a running back. In golf, that ball just sat there, staring at him, daring him. It could not be pummeled into submission.

Bettis brushed off the silly sport and didn’t dare tell his football buddies he’d even tried it. “They’d have laughed at me, like, ‘You’re crazy! What are you talking about?!” the 48-year-old said in a recent phone conversation. “The next question would have been, ‘Where are you going to play at?’ And the one after that would be, ‘Where are you going to get the money to play?’”

In one anecdote, Bettis summed up what it has been like for so many people of colour when it comes to golf.

The emergence of Tiger Woods and the subsequent formation of youth programs such as The First Tee have changed that landscape to some degree, but there is work still to be done in the estimation of some Black athletes who have come to love the game as adults, but never considered it an option as young people.

In interviews with Golf Digest during the American Century Championship on Lake Tahoe in Nevada, with the images of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and social-justice protests fresh in the public psyche, a handful of Black sports stars—from 56-year-old former NBA player Dell Curry to 33-year-old female long-driving champion Troy Mullins—shared stories of how they came to enjoy, and yes, obsess, about golf.

Each is unique, but there were running themes throughout.

None of them showed much interest or awareness of the game as kids because they didn’t have the access, the money or the mentors to cultivate even the faintest curiosity. Neither was the game considered socially acceptable in their neighbourhoods because even if they caught a glimpse of golf on television, no one who looked like them was playing.

The athletes only took up golf after they became accomplished in their chosen sport, and even with their better access as celebrities, most have stories to tell about occasionally feeling either unwelcome or discriminated against in golf.

“Growing up, I had never been around golf. I hadn’t seen a golf course,” said Terrell Davis, the Hall of Fame running back and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos. “There was this image about the game of golf—it was an old white man’s game. It was expensive, and you had to be in a different economic bracket or social status to play. It was nothing that anybody in my neighbourhood talked about.”

Hall of Fame running back Terrell Davis, shown at the Marshall Faulk Celebrity Championship, started playing golf once he was in the NFL. (Photo by Jesse Grant)

Jimmy Rollins, the former major league Gold Glove shortstop who spent the bulk of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, grew up in Alameda, Calif., outside Oakland. He was not introduced to golf as a child, though, he said, as a stick-and-ball kid, he was fascinated at a young age by the skill set it required when he watched on TV.

“That made me think that I wanted to learn, to see if I could apply what I’d seen,” Rollins, 41, said. “But there was really nothing that made me want to play. I never had a true desire to buy some clubs and say, ‘Let’s play golf!’ “

Raised in Virginia, Curry saw his white friends take up golf, but he was left out. “I never got invited,” he recalled. “I don’t want to call it racism, but I wasn’t introduced to that part of their lives.”

Curry—now most recognized as the father of NBA star Stephen Curry, an accomplished golfer himself—didn’t take up golf until a couple of years into his professional career while playing in Charlotte. This time, his teammates openly welcomed him to play.

“I went to the range and must have hit a couple of good shots, because I got the bug pretty quickly,” Curry said. “I read every golf magazine I could, learned some techniques, and I was off and running.”

Dell Curry took up golf while playing in the NBA and passed on his love for the game to his sons. (Photo by Christian Petersen)

Mullins, who won the World Long Drive tour’s 2017 Mile High Showdown with a 402-yard drive, didn’t take up golf seriously until her early 20s, after she had finished her track-and-field career at Cornell. Raised in Los Angeles, her first exposure to the game came when her mother signed her up for a summer camp in Palm Springs—and she was the only girl and African American in the group. When she won the camp’s award for “most improved,” she said she thought less about her colour than her gender.

“I had to walk up to get my trophy past all these boys!” she remembered with a laugh.

Bettis has the best story about getting started. On the Steelers, quarterback Kordell Stewart was an avid golfer, as was massive centre Dermontti Dawson. They goaded Bettis into playing with them, and when he got trounced, he was motivated to get better. At a training camp in the early 2000s in Latrobe, Pa., Arnold Palmer’s hometown, Bettis said the proprietor of a driving range kindly left him an overflowing bucket of balls every day, and he swatted them between two-a-day practices.

“A couple hundred balls—every single day,” Bettis recalled with a laugh. “I wasn’t going to stop until I could hit them consistently.”

Jerome Bettis, shown at Michael Jordan’s celebrity tournament, got better at golf by hitting hundreds of balls while in training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Photo by Marcel Thomas)

He still was more of a weekend hack until Michael Jordan shamed him at NHL star Mario Lemieux’s celebrity tournament. The NBA legend asked Bettis what he shot. Bettis: “103.” Jordan: “Man, you’re not good enough to play with me.”

“I was like, ‘What?!’ “ Bettis said. “That inspired me.” He would work to become a low single-digit handicap, and a few years later played in Lake Tahoe with Jordan. He said Jordan still beat him by a couple of strokes, but they both shot in the 70s and he’d reached his goal: “I was in the same ballpark as MJ.”

That was an issue for African-American athletes of past generations. Tiger Woods, golf’s MJ, hadn’t arrived when they were young. But when he did, even as accomplished, highly paid professionals, they were enthralled and inspired by him.

“For me, it started with Tiger,” said Rollins, who began playing golf well into a major-league career that began in 2000, perhaps Woods’ greatest season. “We saw a person of colour who was dominant in the game. He had that big smile, and the fist pumps were closer, culturally, to how we celebrate when we accomplish things. There was nothing wrong with letting your emotions run a little wild. Tiger made it OK to be a black man who wanted to play golf.”

Former major league shortstop Jimmy Rollins watched golf on TV as a kid, but didn’t feel the desire to play until he was a professional athlete. (Photo by Jonathan Devich)

Bettis reminisced about growing up wearing Air Jordan sneakers, and then he was just as happy to put on Tiger’s Sunday red shirt or his Nike shoes. “It was Tiger on the scene that changed the perception for African Americans,” Bettis said. “Golf was cool. To see that he had broken through, that he was the best in the game, it gave you a sense of pride. That spurred a lot of people on to play.”

There are some concerning obstacles, that remain, the most harrowing of which is overt racism.

Bettis retired to Atlanta after his career, and when he began shopping for a golf club to join, he said one assistant pro told him, “You may not want to join here. We have an older, white population. I will tell you they’re probably a little bit racist.”

“He was being honest with me, and I appreciated that,” Bettis said. “It was a dose of reality. I realized I was in the deep South and golf had always been a white, elitist sport. I wasn’t shocked by it at all. I knew it existed. I wasn’t naïve.”

Bettis eventually joined the highly acclaimed Golf Club of Georgia, where he said the membership is a “melting pot.” He also has played once at Augusta National with Lou Holtz, a club member and his head coach at Notre Dame. “The best experience ever,” he said of playing at the home of the Masters. “I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. The staff there was great.”

Mullins said even at the recent American Century Championship, where the field is as diverse in race and gender as any tournament staged on national TV, she felt as if she was singled out for her race. She said after the first round, an official chided and warned her individually for slow play, though she was grouped with golfers she believed were more deliberate—Charles Barkley and sports broadcaster Kathryn Tappen. (Mullins beat both of them handily in the tournament.) Mullins, playing in the event for the first time, said that if any warning was issued, it should have been to the group.

“I find this incredibly inappropriate,” she said she told the official.

“I felt every bit my colour,” Mullins said of the circumstance. “And I think in looking at me as a woman, he felt that he held the right and the power to be aggressive with me.”

Troy Millins, a World Long Drive competitor who played her first American Century Championship this year, was a track-and-field athlete at Cornell before taking up golf. (Photo by Christian Petersen)

Racial undertones can be what golfers feel, not just hear. Many accomplished athletes, no matter their colour, are invited to exclusive clubs to play because of their celebrity status. Once there, however, it can be a different experience for a Black person. Rollins said he has sometimes been asked to make the rounds to meet members when simple introductions on the course would suffice.

“I was introduced in the clubhouse and to the members as ‘This is my new Black friend I’m going to play with,’ ” Rollins said. “This is where the Black experience comes in. You try to ask yourself, ‘Is that just me feeling that way?’ But I don’t know, because we’ve seen it before. It goes back to when Blacks were enslaved in this country and put on stage to be shown for purchase. It feels like that again—I’m on display for everyone to see. It’s not a natural way of introducing people—‘let’s go around and introduce you.’ I don’t want to do that, but I don’t want to be a bad guest.”

The key for the future, Rollins and others said, is to further develop the programs that introduce younger African-Americans to the game, and thus create a larger group that may influence who are the country club members of the future.

Steph Curry is something of renaissance man in that cause. The 32-year-old Golden State Warriors star has contributed to and promoted The First Tee of Oakland, will reportedly host a Bay Area PGA Tour event beginning in 2021 and is the executive producer and resident golf “pro” on a silly, but golf-themed primetime program, “Holey Moley.” Not to be underestimated, he can be seen playing golf by a national TV audience in the American Century Championship.

Tiger Woods is America’s favourite black golfer, but Curry might be gaining on him, and that can’t be bad for the game, his father contends.

“Steph is one of those people,” Dell Curry said, “that African-American kids can look up to, who can get people to spread the word about how important golf is.”

Unlike the many Black athletes who came before him, Steph did grow up with a golf club in his hand. Dell Curry cut down putters for his two sons at a young age and they frequently followed him around the course. Dell instilled in them early what he believed to be golf’s greatest values: personal connections, hard work, overcoming failure, and having fun.

In examining the issue of how golf can be more inclusive to people of colour, Steph Curry said in a statement to Golf Digest that a “long approach” is required.

A joyful Stephen Curry celebrates chipping in on the 16th hole during the 2020 American Century Championship. (Photo by Christian Petersen)

“There is a lot of talent in the black community to play golf,” Curry said. “There’s just not the access to golf courses and the resources for getting equipment. It’s obviously a very expensive sport.

“It’s continuing to reach into the grassroots level, to get kids connected with a golf club in their hand through the elementary and middle-school age. A lot of kids get lost in the fray. They don’t have anywhere to go. I know there are a lot of amazing organizations that are trying to step in and create those opportunities, but it’s going to take a long time to do it.”

Decades after Bettis’ first range visit, it will still take a barber—or coach or teacher or parent or Tiger Woods or Steph Curry—to encourage a Black child to try and possibly stick with golf.

“It’s everybody pitching in,” Steph Curry said. “It’s getting rid of the old stereotypes about golf. It’s seeing people like me from a crossover sport, and how much fun I have playing the game. We need to get more representation on the PGA Tour, and that starts at the grassroots level, to get kids on the right path to play golf.”

The post Black athletes share their golf experiences, while hoping kids of colour have better and earlier access to game appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

My pledge is to do the same. I’m proud to work for a company, Discovery, that faded to black for eight minutes and 46 seconds—the same amount of time a former police officer kneeled on George Floyd’s neck—across all 19 of its U.S. brands on Tuesday night. But I’m also well aware that we need to keep the conversation going if we are ever to promote real change. Whether its peaceful protests, donating money or having serious conversations, let’s all try to do better. And with that, let’s try to talk about some golf.

WE’RE BUYING

Mic’d up players: The European Tour announced its restart will begin with a six-tournament UK Swing beginning July 22. Also beginning then will be a new policy in which players in featured TV groups will be mic’d up. “It really comes down to how open you are, how creative you are and how your players want to embrace change,” Euro tour chief executive Keith Pelley told BBC Sport. “This is the time for us to do some things completely differently.” Couldn’t agree more. Well done. Just please make sure to put a mic on Eddie Pepperell at all times.

Annika Sorenstam: Arguably the GOAT of the women’s game, Sorenstam stepped up by pledging $50,000 to struggling Symetra Tour players. Well done. The 10-time major champ was also named as a U.S. Women’s Open ambassador for the 75th anniversary of the tournament, which was to be played this week, but will take place in December instead. Oh yeah, she also was this week’s guest on the Golf Digest Podcast, where I enjoyed talking to her about her career and pickleball. Please have a listen:

PGA Tour University: The tour unveiled a new program that will reward the top college golfers (in their fourth or fifth years) by guaranteeing the top five ranked players status on the Korn Ferry Tour for the remainder of the season once the college season ends. This will give young golfers a better chance of playing their way onto the PGA Tour or Korn Ferry Tour for the following season. It also incentivizes staying in school, which will make parents everywhere happy. And speaking of college golf. . .

The Wake Forest team bus: Yes, I’m a Wake alum, but even the most objective observer would say this bad boy is sweet:

New week, new month, NEW VAN ?#GoDeacs pic.twitter.com/wHwc03q7JU

— Wake Forest Men's Golf (@WakeMGolf) June 1, 2020

Imagine going on a golf trip in that thing? Hmm. . . My golf trip is in Pinehurst this August and the college golf season will be on a break. . . Guys, did I mention I went to Wake?

WE’RE SELLING

Vijay Singh’s WD: It turns out, the three-time major champ and fourth all-time money earner in PGA Tour history won’t play in a Korn Ferry Tour event after all. Good. But we’re not giving Singh much credit for having a change of heart, because it appears he would not have gotten a spot in the field by the time the tournament started. In any event, the 57-year-old will not be taking someone else’s spot on the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit.

Cancelled John Deere Classic: The PGA Tour restart will sadly not include this major of the Midwest, informally known as the Steve Stricker, Zach Johnson and friends Invitational. It’s too bad it won’t be played this year, but it’s also understandable. In the meantime, the tour is looking to replace the event by holding back-to-back tournaments at Muirfield Village with the Memorial scheduled for the week after. We’re guessing golfers won’t be too upset about spending two week’s at Jack’s place considering that golf course—and those glorious-looking milkshakes.

Rory’s Peloton prowess: McIlroy’s cycling reputation took a bit of a hit when he finished fourth out of eight in ESPN’s first Peloton Pro-Athlete All-Star Race. And while getting dusted by an Olympic medal-winning swimmer (Matt Grevers) is nothing to be ashamed of, McIlroy got beat by former NFL player and former Monday Night Football analyst Booger McFarland. “Since I can’t beat Rory McIlroy on the golf course,” Booger said before the race, “my one goal for today is to prove that golfers aren’t athletes.” While we wouldn’t go that far, it wasn’t a great showing by our guys.

Bubba Watson was sixth and Justin Thomas finished in last place. JT! Pick up the pace! You’re a young man! Props to Morgan Pressel, though, for finishing second on the women’s side. See? Golfers are athletes!

ON TAP

CBS will air the final round of the 2012 Memorial on Sunday. Unfortunately, I missed the end because I was boarding a flight back from a wedding in New Orleans after drinking a few too many hurricanes, but that was a good one. Two words: Flop shot. Sorry, four words: Tiger Woods flop shot.

My word.

Random tournament fact: This will be the last weekend (hopefully) without live golf for a while. Thank goodness.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—I would survive drinking that many hurricanes now: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—Michael Jordan/Steph Curry will be play in the next The Match: 2-to-3 odds
—Larry David would be a more entertaining choice: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Two golfers broke 70 on Streamsong Black—and lost by a combined 19 shots to European Tour pro Sam Horsefield, who shot 59 on the par 73:

A 59 to brighten your Sundays, courtesy of @hr59sam ? pic.twitter.com/jfanDCkUrw

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 31, 2020

These guys are good. Hey, if the European Tour is looking for a new motto while it revamps, that one is available.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PRO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION SOLIDARITY

Perhaps more than any other time ever, pro golfers spoke out about social injustice amid national protests following the tragic killing of George Floyd. Players like Tiger Woods and Harold Varner III released statements:

pic.twitter.com/Wn7EoTInzU

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) June 2, 2020

There is a lot of of beauty and love in this world. I pray for equality & social justice as we all so desperately deserve that in this day and age. I pray for humanity even more because regardless of color, WE need each other to make that change. Stay safe. Love you guys ??? pic.twitter.com/LrFEff94IF

— Harold Varner III (@HV3_Golf) June 1, 2020

And others like Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, and Justin Thomas joined the social media #BlackoutTuesday campaign:

As awful as these recent events have been, it’s nice to see the game’s stars taking a stance and spreading awareness. Let’s hope they keep it up.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

Congrats to Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt on making his first-ever hole-in-one. I guess. Kidding. Sort of.

Finally happened today…my first ACE!!!!

Shady Canyon Golf Club
17th 145 yd PW pic.twitter.com/K6cSxyJIyb

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) May 27, 2020

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I don’t know the avenue to fix this. But I do know that calling someone an idiot, saying they’re stupid, making fun of them for their belief or their vision or how they feel, that’s mean. That’s it. It’s so simple. That’s just mean. So don’t be mean. Think, maybe take a step back. Process, empathize, do something to at least see their—and if you don’t agree, don’t agree, go away. I literally think I leaned 75 percent of all this in pre-school. Treat people the way you want to be treated. If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it.” —Max Homa. Well said.

I’m a 29 year old white dude who has played golf his entire life and knows nearly nothing about what it feels like to be oppressed, discriminated against, or unsafe. So I spoke on what I do know and that’s being a nice and respectful person. pic.twitter.com/CEHKscIlEQ

— max homa (@maxhoma23) June 1, 2020

THIS AND THAT

Sahith Theegala, who won the Fred Haskins Award as the nation’s top collegiate golfer last month, fired a 62 in his first round as a pro—on the Outlaw Tour. Not exactly how other past POYs like Tiger and Phil started their pro careers, but 2020 is not exactly your normal year, either. . . . Speaking of 62s, Tiger Woods moved up from No. 11 to No. 8 in Forbes’ annual highest-paid athletes list with earnings of $62.3 million. Of course, when you’ve been ranked No. 1 a dozen(!) times, this isn’t all that exciting. . . . And finally, it’s been a tough couple months, but I recently got a nice pick-me-up when my favourite artist gave a shout-out to my daughter, who I have already trained well when it comes to music.

Awwwww !! https://t.co/lqHhDSpeen

— benjamin folds (@BenFolds) May 24, 2020

Thanks, Ben. You’re the GOAT.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Why isn’t Ben Folds more famous?
What would Tiger’s career earnings be on the Outlaw Tour?
What would Tiger say about my golf swing?

The post PGA Tour pros speak out, Rory McIlroy’s cycling rep stalls, and Tiger takes on the role of swing coach appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall

Given the current news climate, the San Francisco Chronicle’s post that Steph Curry was accepting a Web.com Tour sponsor exemption seemed innocuous, more of a celebrated press release than a report. It’s quickly snowballed into anything but.

Within minutes of the basketball star’s participation at the Ellie Mae Classic hitting the wire, the Twitter takes were passionate and plentiful:

Steph Curry, a 2.2 handicap, is getting a sponsor's exemption into a Web event. So many great players could use that chance. Sad

— Lee McCoy (@LeeMcCoyGolf) June 28, 2017

Steph curry does not need to play in any web tournaments, he has a job that pays well already. He takes a spot away from one of us joining.

— Joseph (@Angler_nation89) June 28, 2017

Steph Curry playing in a WEB Event is going to be awesome. People don't realize how good these WEB players are. Curry will get killed.

— jaebberwock (@jaebberwock) June 28, 2017

https://twitter.com/jayham63/status/880064871043178497

Lol.. Steph Curry trying to play professional golf now? ?
Good luck bro.

— John Edgin ♛ (@edgin_john) June 28, 2017

https://twitter.com/ghostofhogan/status/880091064450695173

And those are just the PG-rated responses.

Make no mistake, Curry can hold his own as a golfer. Conversely, other athletes that are better hackers than the NBA star — most notably, John Smoltz and Jerry Rice — had disastrous results in their attempts to crack the game’s professional ranks. To think a different fortune awaits Curry is delusional.

Yet, this doesn’t discredit his invite. One of the intentions behind sponsor’s exemptions, particularly at the minor-league level, is to drum up interest for the event. In that regard, this move is an unmitigated success: a Web.com Tour stop asserting itself into national discussion, to say nothing of the attendance Curry’s presence will bring.

Moreover, though this exemption sometimes translates to an opportunity for an up-and-coming talent or the best player not in the field, it often manifests in a tournament giving a spot to a local, hoping to appease the hometown fans. Or worse, as Golf.com’sGary Van Sickle pointed out, it’s often who you know — rather than what you’ve done — that earns a sponsor’s exemption.

That includes Lee McCoy, who’s been particularly vocal against Curry’s inclusion. For the former Georgia Bulldog’s highlight of his fledgling career was spurred by an invite to the 2016 Valspar Championship because, well, he grew up at Innisbrook. He ultimately proved his mettle, finishing T-4 as an amateur. However, a lot of viable, established tour veterans sat at home that week, and though McCoy may ultimately become a presence at golf’s top level, he’s failed to produce anything of note at the tour outside Copperhead.

This is not to pick on McCoy (especially accounting for his off-the-course injury), and he boasts an exponentially-better golf pedigree than Curry. But, while golf is the ultimate meritocracy, the philosophy is not found in every aspect of the game. No matter the circuit, each event simply won’t have the best x-amount of players in its field. Hell, a fourth of Masters’ competitors don’t have a shot at the green jacket, and that tournament seems to be doing just fine.

So call Curry’s exemption a publicity stunt all you want. Just don’t act like it’s an aberration.

The post Steph Curry’s Web.com Tour exemption is drawing criticism. Is it warranted? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.