Pro golfers and their pastimes off the fairway

Professional golfers are people too, and believe it or not, they don’t spend all their time on the course practising their swing for the next tournament. They have hobbies just like us, and in most cases, they’re hobbies that plenty of people out there enjoy. Just like Michael Jordan enjoys golfing and David Beckham fencing, the top names in our beloved game have their own favourite pastimes too. And they’re not all sport-related, either. 

Keep reading to find out what a few of the top players get up to in their spare time and see if you have anything in common with your favourite golfing pros. 

Tiger Woods – Gaming

It’s fair to say that the one thing golf fans and those that don’t enjoy the sport have in common is that we’ve all heard of Tiger Woods. One thing we probably don’t all know, though, is that one of his favourite pastimes is playing video games; starting from a young age right through to today. 

During an unfortunate low point in his life, he shared with Stephen Colbert that he played Call of Duty for as long as eight hours a day. Now that the 15-time major championship winner is back in the sport he no doubt doesn’t get as much time in the virtual world as he’d like, but it surely won’t stop him from squeezing in a few rounds when he can. In the meantime, he enjoys completing the odd jigsaw or two – and who doesn’t?

Luke Donald – Art

The English golfer Luke Donald isn’t only keen to decorate his career. The pro with 17 professional wins and 5 PGA championship victories studied art theory and practice at Northwestern University, and in his downtime, likes to pull together some seriously beautiful paintings, many of which are of golf itself. 

The aspiring artist-cum-pro golfer compares looking to a hole from a tee to staring upon a blank canvas, stating that the improvisation required in both art and golfing make the two passions entirely intertwined. Many of his pieces, whether related to golf or not, go up for auction – one of his most popular pieces, ‘European Stars Over Chicago’, sold for $10,000. 

John Daly – Gambling 

With his cavalier, unconventional attitude and character both on and off the course, John Daly is famous for his golfing ability as well as his antics. He currently holds 17 professional wins and one PGA championship to his name – there’s no doubt that Daly goes down in the books as one of the greats. 

When he’s not golfing, he likes to spend time among the bright lights and buzz of the Vegas casino strip, though it’s fair to say that it’s not the most healthy or inexpensive way to have fun. Whether it’s due to betting it all on black at the roulette table, a big session spinning the mega reels, or a combination of all that casinos have to offer, Daly once blew $1.65 million in a single night. Let’s hope that the fan favourite gets this gambling problem in check once and for all.