As Tom Brady heads into his 10th Super Bowl appearance in Tampa this year, many players are already swapping their football cleats for golf shoes in the off season. And more than a few who have serious game on the gridiron do a pretty good job of bringing it on the golf course as well. Here’s our top list of NFL Players who golf.
Ben Roethlisberger
Sporting a handicap index that has dipped as low as 0.4, Ben Roethlisberger, the Pittsburgh Steeler’s two-time Super-Bowl-winning quarterback, has no doubt made more than a few of his fellow players on the golf course call out a few “audibles” of their own.
Aaron Rodgers
With a handicap hovering between 7 and 8, this Green Bay Packers QB has been keeping his “irons” in the fire in the off-season. Ranked as the best quarterback in the NFL, Rodgers was unable to close the deal for a 2017 Super Bowl appearance with his loss against the Falcons. But that hasn’t stopped him from getting out on the golf course. Look for him at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am next week.
Tom Brady
Another “A-List” football regular at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady boasts and incredible four Super Bowl rings (tied on the all time list with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw), a $20 million-dollar mansion, and a supermodel wife. Throw his “8” handicap into the mix and now you’re talking. Recently touted by Donald Trump as having a swing like Ernie Els and the ability to hit the ball a mile, the 39-year-old Brady— who says he plans on playing football until he’s forty—may have already found his next big career.
Drew Brees
What does an MVP award for Super Bowl XLIV and a 3 handicap in golf have in common? They both belong to Drew Brees, one of the greatest passers in NFL history. Celebrating his first hole-in-one back in 2009—a 5-iron shot on a 199 Yard par 3—Brees professes a deep love of golf, a game he says he’ll never stop playing. When asked if the two sports ever overlap, Brees confessed in a Golf Magazine interview, “I try not to think about football when I play golf and I definitely don’t think about golf when I’m playing football.”
Matt Schaub
Tied with Warren Moon for the second-most passing yards in a single game in NFL history—527 yards in a 43-37 overtime victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012—Matt Schaub holds every passing record in the history of the Houston Texan’s franchise. In January 2021 he announced his retirement after 17 years in the NFL, 8 with the Falcons. Although he may not be breaking any course records in his golf shoes, his 7 handicap puts him on the list of great gridiron golfers.
Danny Woodhead
Former Los Angeles Charger is an avid golfer working his handicap down to scratch playing his home course at Omaha Country Club, and in 2020 qualified for the U.S. U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Chambers Bay.
Carson Palmer
犀利士 A Heisman Trophy winner and #1 pick in the 2003 NFL draft, Carson Palmer has put up impressive numbers as former quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders. And with a single-digit handicap, some might think that Carson is related to that other Palmer who played golf.
