In 2007, Nicolas Cage’s fascination with dinosaurs saw him run into problems with the Mongolian government after he paid $276,000 for a stolen Tyrannosaurus bataar skull. The boxer Mike Tyson also wound up in legal issues when his pet tiger mauled a woman who was trespassing on his property in the 1990s.
If these two celebrities had instead focused on a more run-of-the-mill hobby like golf, rather than palaeontology and the keeping of wild animals, they might not have ended up in quite as much hot water.
Fortunately, there are a great many more celebrities who choose the golf course over the tiger enclosure, and surprisingly a great many of them are musicians.
Whilst some are known for throwing television sets out of hotel windows, others prefer to spend their spare time on the golf course, and some of them became remarkably good at the game.
In this article, we take a look at some of the most talented musicians-turned-golfers. To be clear though, none of the names below are likely to feature in the DraftKings US Open betting anytime soon. We’re just saying that for people who sing and play instruments, they’re pretty good at golf!
Jake Owen
Country singer turned golfer. Yeah, that checks out. Of all the musical genres you can imagine linking up well with golf, country and western is pretty high up on the list. Owen actually grew up hoping to become a professional golfer, but a significant injury to his shoulder put paid to that dream.
Fortune shone on Owen though, because when he was recovering from his shoulder injury, he tried his hand at guitar and realised he was pretty darn good at it. Despite going on to become a famous musician, Jake Owen continues to play golf when his schedule and historic injury allow.
He has a handicap of around three and has played in a number of Pro-Am tournaments.
(Country music has spawned some pretty good golfers.)
Justin Timberlake
Most children were allowed to be kids when they were growing up, but in between singing and dancing, Justin Timberlake was playing golf with his Father. Timberlake’s passion for the game continued into his adult life, with him still regularly playing to this day.
Not as good as Owens, Timberlake only has a handicap of five, but he hasn’t let that hold him back when it comes to entering Pro-Ams and competing. Mind you, ‘only’ having a handicap of five when you’re a world-famous singer and actor seems like a pretty good trade from where we’re sitting right now!
Alice Cooper
OK, this one doesn’t really check out, so bear with us… Alice Cooper, the Godfather of Shock Rock, the man who once brought a defecating Boa Constrictor out on stage in Los Angeles and nearly hung himself on stage, is addicted to…golf.
Yeah, seems right. Cooper, like many rock and roll stars of his era, struggled enormously with substance issues. In 1983, however, he decided to get clean and replace his addiction to alcohol with something healthier and more rewarding.
The thing he chose to replace the booze with was golf. Cooper began getting up early in the morning and playing a full 36 holes a day. To this day, he still plays at least 6 times a week, often teeing off at 5.30 am.
Unsurprisingly for a man with so much practice, he plays off scratch!
(Alice Cooper, the self-professed golf addict.)
Kenny G
OK, we’re back in the realm of musicians who fit well with golf – a saxophonist. Kenneth Bruce Gorelick doesn’t just have one of the best names in the world; he also has fifteen studio albums, eighteen compilations and forty-one singles. Oh, and he’s pretty good at golf too.
Incredibly though when he was at school, his teachers thought he was more talented on the green than in the recording studio. Despite making it onto the high school golf team, he was rejected from the jazz band.
I wonder if the 75 million records sold as an adult have managed to change the opinions of the teachers in charge of his high school jazz band…
Anyway, without digressing any further into a character assassination of the jazz teacher at Kenny G’s high school, let’s get back to the green. Like Cooper, Kenny G plays pretty much off scratch, but has been known at Pro-Am’s to even play off a plus handicap. Impressive.