Ex-Rams quarterback Jim Everett dismantled the Atlanta Falcons defense in the early 1990’s quicker than he figured out the seventh hole at Kaua’i Lagoons Golf Course. “Golf is hard,” former Denver Broncos great John Elway said plainly, just before Everett
Ex-Rams quarterback Jim Everett dismantled the Atlanta Falcons defense in the early 1990’s quicker than he figured out the seventh hole at Kaua’i Lagoons Golf Course.
“Golf is hard,” former Denver Broncos great John Elway said plainly, just before Everett chipped a wedge shot from the fringe to within four feet of the hole. “This sport is not about athleticism. It’s not an easy game…that’s what keeps us playing.”
Elway, Everett and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning hit the course early before their 1:00 p.m. tee-time on the Kaiele course yesterday.
The trio and others played 18-holes up in Princeville the day before, and planned to get in another full day of golf before they head to Vidinha Stadium this morning to compete in the 12th Annual Quarterback Challenge. In total, some of the quarterbacks have played over 40 holes in two days on Kaua’i.
So what’s got these quarterbacks so addicted to a game where the NFL’s strongest football player can be out-driven by a 13-year-old Oahu girl named Michelle Wie?
“It’s the best feeling when you get in that groove,” said Everett as he picked up the par and waited for Manning to put-out the hole. “There’s nothing like it.”
Even better than finding the groove on the football field?
“Well, I don’t always have that feeling on the football field, even if I do find some consistency,” said Elway.”
Elway, a 2-handicap golfer, is no slouch on the golf course.
The two-time Super Bowl champion has played golf seriously since the mid-1980’s, competes in various celebrity rounds and is known for blasting PGA-style 300-yard shots off the tee. He once smacked a 325-yard rocket in South Lake Tahoe at the Isuzu Celebrity Golf Championship.
But Elway and his golfing pals aren’t the only star athletes who have found passion in golf.
Heavyweight boxing legend Joe Louis was a huge golf nut. Louis was known to drop thousands of dollars in side bets during a round or two on the links.
NBA great Michael Jordan once claimed he would make the PGA-Tour. Instead, Jordan is back at the free-throw line, a skill he found easier to conquer.
And Andre Agassi, Dan Marino, Mark Martin, Shaquille O’Neal, Mo Vaughn, and Mark McGuire are only a few of the many big-time athletes that play golf when they aren’t in the sporting limelight.
“Putting,” Elway said as he waltzed onto the green. “A day of good putting is what makes me feel great when I play this game.”
