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Par for the Course

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Shooting stars

Some celebrities and athletes from other sports are good at golf, while others just like to have fun and get in the game.

By Eric TracyPublished: October, 2008

Alice Cooper is easy to spot in those pants. Everybody loves teeing it up with Ray Romano (below).
Celebrity sightings in Southern California are as common as smog in July. That includes celebrities on the golf course.

I got to play golf with athletes and sports celebrities during my days as a sportscaster, and I was fortunate to be invited to a number of charity events.

Off the record, here’s what I think:

• Best golfer who played baseball: Rick Rhoden has been a dominant figure on the Celebrity Golf Tour and qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, but Orel Hershiser was the best I saw on the golf course. The pitcher known as Bulldog has the uncanny ability to focus on every shot. I thought he’d pursue a professional golf career after his playing days but the lure of the broadcast booth was too powerful.

• Best golfers from other professional sports: These two guys can tee it up with anyone — former quarterback John Elway and former goalie Grant Fuhr.

• Best female celebrity golfer: Former UCLA basketball player Ann Meyers-Drysdale regularly shoots in the low 80s from the men’s tees and has a rhythmic and powerful swing I’d love to have. What’s really amazing is how deadly she can be on the greens putting with one hand.

• Ugliest swing: NBA Hall of Fame forward and TNT analyst Charles Barkley’s motion is full of stops and starts. It’s hard to explain. For proof, check it out on YouTube.

• Best celebrity putter: NBA Hall of Fame player and coach Bill Sharman was our celebrity golfer for an event at MountainGate Country Club. He sank eight putts, half of which were over 30 feet. I’ve since played with Sharman a half dozen times and he’s always deadly on the greens.

• Nicest celebrities: Although a number of golfers qualify, Joe Mantegna from television and movies and Eric Karros from the world of sports are my favorites. Mantegna could be one of the most active actors on the celebrity/charity links and he’s as regular a guy as there is. And if every athlete was as kind, considerate and patient as Karros, there would never be a knock on professional athletes. Both these guys get it. The paying public is why they got to earn a nice living and they make their playing partners feel special while on the course.

Others who are a pleasure to play with include actors Ray Romano and Alan Thicke and comedian Tom Dreesen.

• Most inspiring golfer: Jim Abbott, who also could be included in the previous category, is an amazing person. He was born with only one hand but beat the odds to become a top-notch professional pitcher and a gold medal winner for Team USA. It’s easy to become awed by Abbott’s athletic ability on the golf course, but it’s his positive attitude about life and the kind way he treats people that makes playing in his group so special.

• The I-Need-To-Take-This-Call Award goes to comedian and former Saturday Night Live actor Kevin Nealon. The flexibility necessary to hold a cell phone to your ear without using your hands is impressive enough, but to make a delicate chip shot in the process is amazing. I saw him get a 50-foot downhill curler to inside-the-leather range at a charity event. It must have been his agent on the phone.

• The Who-Needs-Ian-Poulter’s-Tailor Award is a toss-up between former quarterback Jim McMahon and rocker Alice Cooper. Both are devotees of Loud Mouth Golf Pants, so you never have trouble finding them on the course. Both play to single digit handicaps, but the nod goes to McMahon because he always plays barefoot no matter the weather.

Then again, your intrepid columnist isn’t a subtle dresser on the golf course either, but I go one step further because my grips match my golf pants.

Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. He can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com.

Readers Feedback:

Still looking for my wooden putter I won at Trup International
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