Dell Curry On Steph Curry's Emergence As A Top Athlete Golfer: ‘It's Really Unfair How Good He Is'

Forbes

5 hours ago

It's no secret that Steph Curry is a great golfer.
The greatest three-point shooter of all time has talent outside of the basketball court, proving to be one of the best athletes on the golf course. The four-time NBA champion won the 2023 American Century Championship and will return in 2025 after a one-year hiatus due to playing in last year's Olympics.
He'll join his father, Dell Curry, and his younger brother, Seth Curry, along with 90-plus athletes and entertainers in the tournament. His father, Dell – who first played in the tournament in the 90's as an active NBA player -- is looking forward to joining his sons on the course in Lake Tahoe yet again.
'Steph has won it, the only active player in any sport to win it,' says Curry. "He's eager to get back and just like the year he won it, he has a good shot to win it this year. With a second round exit this year, he's had time, and will have time to work on his game. But it's just a great week for me to spend some time with my two sons on the course.
'Any time you can get on a golf course, it's an uninterrupted time, and it's a great week," Curry continues to say. "We've got me and my sons and some friends that make the trip every year, and it's just a great week.'
The elder Curry says this is the fourth year that he and both of his sons will play in the American Century Championship. He says that Seth joined the tournament later on when initially it had been Dell and Steph as a duo.
He says that both of his sons watched growing up as he played golf in Charlotte in the 90's as a player of the Charlotte Hornets.
'They'd follow me while I'm on the next tee box, doing the green putting,' says Curry of his sons watching him play in the 90's. 'They got some lessons early about etiquette and how to get around the course. We learned together. Steph took off. He passed me and became a better player than I did quickly.
'Seth was a late bloomer the last 18 years,' Curry continues to say of his younger son. 'Seth has really started to play, we have some great matches together. Seth, his golf game has really improved in the last five or six years he actually won.'
The 60-year-old Curry says they're all competitive when they're on the golf course and says they have 'belts' for whoever wins in the family. He says that Seth won last year after they 'spotted him' way too many points.
'It's a great time,' says Curry. 'The golf course is a great way to spend time together, uninterrupted, and with the handicap system, you can be as competitive as you want.'
As he mentions, Steph is quite the force on the greens. The father of the Golden State Warriors star says it's 'unfair' how good he is considering how little he plays golf, since he's still focused on his basketball career and when factoring in that he has four kids.
The 37-year-old Curry just completed his 16th season in the NBA, leading the Warriors to the second round of the playoffs. He remains a force this deep into his career, clinching his 11th All-Star bid after averaging 24.7 points and 6.0 assists per game to go along with 93.3% shooting from the charity stripe.
'It's really unfair how good he is with how little he plays with everything he's got going on and off the court with four kids,' says Curry of his son. 'I'd say he doesn't get to practice hardly at all, if any, but he'll shoot even under par like it's nothing. He hits it a long way, but his touch around the greens able and his putting to get up and down. That's how you score on the golf course. It's just phenomenal, because he hits it so far. He doesn't have to hit driver in a lot of holes, and that puts him in play.'
While basketball players generally don't translate into great golfers – even Curry admits this – his son has managed to defy the odds. Outside of Curry, Vinny Del Negro is the only basketball player to win the American Century Championship since it began in 1990.
'I think it's just a competitive spirit,' says Curry. 'It's a game that's hard. Every single shot is different, and like a three-pointer, that's kind of repetitive. But every shot in golf, every hole is different. It brings a new challenge to every single shot. Both of my boys, they love a challenge. They love the competition of anything.'
He attributes Steph's 'soft hands' as for why he's able to translate success from the basketball court onto the golf course.
'When you're challenged as an individual to beat your playing opponent is when your competitive juices can really go above board,' says Curry. 'But the way Steph just has this ability to watch golf on TV and incorporate anything that he sees into his game is tremendous. The way he can put and his soft hands around the green make him the golfer that he is.'
While his son is certainly a menace on the golf course, Curry mentions a former notable tennis player – Mardy Fish – who has found his calling following his own playing career. Fish won last year and in 2020 and has finished as a runner-up on three other occasions.
'I have to say our good friend, Mardy Fish,' says Curry of the biggest threat in the tournament. 'Mardy's won a couple times, won last year, beat Steph with an eagle putt on 18, the year he won it. Mardy's one of our good friends. We enjoy playing the practice around with Marty, great guy. He's definitely got to be up there as a favorite as well as Tony Romo.'
The American Century Championship will begin on July 9, with the first round starting on July 11.