Where heroes go to play: Exploring golf's irresistible allure to sports legends

Khaleej Times

26-05-2025

There's a saying in sport: 'Retire with grace... or retire with a golf handicap.'
It's an unwritten law of the sports world — no matter how fast you sprinted, how high you leapt, how many goals you scored or the number of grand slams you amassed — at some point, all roads tend to lead to the golf course.
And it starts innocently.
Maybe you're the Welsh wizard Gareth Bale, a footballing superstar with lightning speed and a love for golf so strong that it inspired your infamous 'Wales. Golf. Madrid.' flag. You install replica holes from Augusta in your backyard. Before you know it, you're teeing up with the pros in a celebrity tournament, wondering why you ever bothered with shin pads and Nike Phantom GX boots!
But Gareth is just one of many. Take Andriy Shevchenko — AC Milan's 2004 Ballon d'Or-winning Ukrainian striker. After making defenders weep for years, he now seeks peace and precision on fairways instead of football fields. The stakes feel just as high when it's you versus a 20-foot putt as it is when lining up a penalty kick from 12 yards.
And then there's Formula 1 — the land of fireproof suits, flying pit stops, and wheel-to-wheel drama. You'd think they'd stick to adrenaline, but no. The great escape for drivers isn't into speedboats or parachutes. It's golf.
Nico Rosberg, having conquered Hamilton and the world, now spends much of his retired time conquering bunkers instead. David Coulthard and Mark Webber, too, swapped burning rubber for burning tee shots.
Even rally legend Carlos Sainz Sr. hits the links like he's chasing another world title, only this one comes with plaid pants and not the fire-retardant racing suit he donned when getting behind the wheel of his Dakar Rally-winning Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+.
Jordan charts his course
Across the Atlantic, America's sporting elite have their own obsession.
Michael Jordan, the most competitive human ever to lace up a pair of sneakers, didn't just take up golf — he built his own private course designed so that he could beat everyone.
NBA sensation and three-point specialist Steph Curry, meanwhile, is so good he's played in professional events — not as a gimmick, but as a genuine contender.
NFL quarterbacks are especially susceptible to the golf bug. Tony Romo, the famed quarterback turned NFL game analyst plays off scratch, and has flirted with making it onto the PGA Tour. Peyton Manning and John Elway have thrown countless touchdowns — but they now chase birdies instead. Safer and for sure fewer concussions.
Hockey? Oh, don't get us started.
Wayne Gretzky might be the Great One on the ice, but in golf, he's known as 'Dustin Johnson's father-in-law.' The skaters love golf's slower pace, the warm weather, and the chance to swap bruises for bunker shots.
From the green baize to the greens
Even snooker legends like Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stephen Hendry have succumbed to the lure of the greens. You'd think they'd find golf boring after spending their careers thinking in terms of microscopic angles and cushion physics. But in fact, it's exactly what draws them in. Precision. Patience.
Cricket? It's practically a gateway sport to golf.
The transition is natural. Smooth strokes, quiet intensity, the need for unshakeable calm in front of a crowd. Players like Sir Ian Botham, Kevin Pietersen, and Ricky Ponting picked up clubs post-retirement like it was part of the cricketing manual. Kapil Dev, the 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning captain, even represented India in amateur golf tournaments.
And horse racing? The jockeys might be small in stature, but they swing big. AP McCoy and Ruby Walsh galloped straight into the golf world, bringing with them a hunger for competition that grass and gallops couldn't fully satisfy. Besides, after a lifetime of strict diets and gruelling weight management, a leisurely round of golf (with a lemonade in hand) feels like paradise.
So why golf?
Because it's safe, yet competitive. Quiet, yet thrilling. You can play it well into your 70s and still lift your collar at the 19th hole. For athletes used to pressure, golf offers a different kind of addiction — one that's infuriating, meditative, and beautifully solitary.
Golf is sport's ultimate second act. You may have made your name in boots, helmets, or silks. But eventually, you'll find yourself on a tee box, sizing up a par 3, muttering something about your short game and blaming your putter.
Welcome to the 'club.' Literally