Why Do Entertainers & Rockstars Love the Game of Golf?
Golf was a game played by robotic old men at country clubs in the suburbs. This was my impression of the game when I was growing up. I loved footy, the big hits, the high marks, and the fast pace of play. Golf was not on my radar. I was into Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, and hard passionate rock music. I painted my entire bedroom black with one feature wall covered in tin foil. Now, I am older and my former heroes, those wild men of pop, play golf. Why do entertainers and rockstars love the game of golf?
Rockstar Alice Cooper Adores Golf
Alice Cooper is more than fond of the game of golf, he f***** loves it! In fact, he claims it saved his life. I can understand that because, maybe, I feel the same way about the game myself. Alice Cooper took up golf some 35 years ago and the golf bug bit deep into this rockstar’s veins. The mascara may run down the cheeks of this ghoulish singer but he plays off single figures. Passionate people who have lived intense lives like Alice find an outlet for that intensity in golf.
Mister Cooper once played 36 holes a day, every day for a year. I get that too. Golf can replace the showbusiness peak experience for burned out performers and those in the industry.
Robert Sudha Hamilton
The microcosm that is competitive golf can satisfy those cravings for intensity to fulfil a deep seated need. It is not just drugs it is the whole intense high of performing and living on the edge to some degree.
The waning of the moon can spell the death knell for many in this industry. This is why there are so many early deaths amongst the ranks of performers and those in showbusiness more generally.
Showbusiness Stars Who Love To Golf
There are legions of entertainers and showbusiness folk who profess a deep love for the game of golf. Justin Timberlake lives and breathes the game. Huey Lewis is a big fan of playing the game. Kevin Costner famously digs the small ball sport. Samuel L Jackson plays off single digits. Celine Dion loves golf. Clint Eastwood and Bill Murray are, of course, long time golf aficionados. Kenny G plays golf like he blows his saxophone. Bob Seger, Dave Farrell, Darius Rucker, Drew Copeland, Ed Roland, Frank Beard, and Fred Durst all golfed or golf with the best of them. Roger Waters, Sean Connery, Willie Nelson, and Snoop Dog, also, golfed or golf like there was no tomorrow.
These are only the famous names but there are many more roadies and the like who picked up golf as an outlet for that intensity and peak experience hunger that resided within them. Out there on the golf course they play against the layout in an intense battle with only their skill and clubs at hand to help.
The microcosm that is golf is one crowded hour spread over four plus change. The game eats up those precious moments which demand supreme focus to play a shot or make a putt.
Golf is a performance as well. Why do you think some of those pros wear those garish outfits? In Jack’s day it used to be plaid. Prior to him there were star performers like Bing Crosby and Bob Hope who were big supporting players in golf hosting their own tournaments. The white belt and two tone golf shoes remain as reminders of golf’s garish past in the fashion stakes. Why do entertainers and rockstars love the game of golf? It is all about the buzz of having to make a shot and being on show within your four ball as you do it. It is the intensity of the game amid the pines and under the sheltering sky. It is the beauty of the green cathedral as living backdrop to the business at hand. It is all the pieces in the puzzle which make golf the most challenging game to play on the planet.
Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Golf Book: Green Cathedral Dreams.
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