Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, has filled his days since the 2016 Rio Olympics with many terrestrial activities, not the least of which is golf.
Though Phelps has yet to ascend to the top of the pro golf world, he has played in some respectable competitions, and even once sunk a 159-foot putt on live television, despite playing with a “26 handicap” as the commentators say.
From August 26th to 29th at the 2021 BMW Championship in Owing Hills, Maryland, not far from where Phelps grew up, some of the world’s best golfers have convened for the BMW Championship, the penultimate stop of the FedEx Cup, a part of the PGA Tour schedule. Phelps took to the course a day early on August 25th, playing alongside Jordan Spieth, and it wasn’t just the Olympian’s presence on the links that drew attention, but also the clubs he was swinging.
Phelps’ golf clubs are stamped with the Olympic rings and 28 stars, one for each of the 28 Olympic medals he has won.
Phelps has been an avid golfer for years, even appearing on a season of The Haney Project, a reality television show on the Golf Channel where Hank Haney, who is perhaps best known for coaching Tiger Woods, helps celebrities trying to improve their golf game. Phelps’ stint on The Haney Project came after his first retirement from swimming following the London 2012 Olympic Games. Though Phelps got back in the pool for a couple of years and had a very successful Rio Olympics in 2016, he has returned to golf. According to Golf Digest, Phelps “has the swing of a man who has used retirement to put his 12 handicap on a serious diet.”
Does he have his own Putt Putt course in the desert?
Actually Jon Rahm is one of his neighbors and there are lots of full sized golf courses nearby.
159 FOOT putt – not yard.
nearly one length of LCM pool
Still, something worth noting as an accomplishment.