Stephen Curry. Golf. No further explanation is necessary. That’s how good the Warriors superstar is in the sport. So, when there is this news floating around that the NBA Managing Director, Grant Hill, beat the 2023 American Century Championship winner, the first reaction will be, ‘Huh?’ Naturally. Not to worry, though.

The man of the hour has come forward to narrate what exactly went down in Abu Dhabi. Joining Rachel Nichols in the latest episode of All The Smoke, the Blue Devils legend, started his story. “The incident wasn’t I beat Steph at golf. No. Steph is an incredible golfer, but we played in Abu Dhabi,” at which point Nichols stopped him mid-conversation to clarify if he just said that he actually did beat Curry. 

Fumbling to find the right words for a second, Hill continued. “I won’t say that it was because I beat him. No, sorry, I did not beat him,” Grant stated plainly to avoid any confusion whatsoever. Now that we have got that out of the way, what incident was Hill referring to?

It’s already an established fact that Stephen Curry is obsessed with golf. And it seems like Grant Hill considers himself as just as obsessed as his close friend, Steph. So much so that the pair of them proceeded to go golfing in the humid climate of Abu Dhabi. To give an idea of just how hot it was, the Atlanta Hawks’ co-owner came up with a perfect example.

“Think of [it] like if Las Vegas and the summer of Orlando had a baby,” Grant said, laughing. “It’s [Abu Dhabi] on the Persian Gulf, so it’s incredibly humid and so we’re the only people out there golfing. And anyway, I played four times when I was there, but one time after the fourth hole I had to quit like it was too hot! I was sweating, it was miserable, wasn’t playing well … I had to change my shirt at the turn because it was so drenched that it was heavy you know, and affected [my performance]. That was my excuse,” Hill said with a side-eye, clearly excited he got a reason to pin the loss.

Nevertheless, given you are playing against Steph Curry should be enough reason to not be hard on yourself for losing.

How good is Stephen Curry at golf?

The ‘Chef’ has been playing golf since the age of 10. Sure, that gave him an edge over the relatively newer members of the sport. However, just like any other sport, golf demands hard work. In fact, traits like patience, concentration, visualization, core control, short game, and more are features of exceptional golfers.

And PGA Tour’s Jordan Spieth believes Stephen Curry falls right in that category. “He’d be one of the longest right away on the Champions tour. He’d rip up par 5s, so it’d come down to how tight can he get his game from 150 yards and in because you can’t miss on both sides of the flag out there. Obviously, he has the clutch gene, but what impresses me most is his joy,” Spieth said in a late May Golf Digest feature.

Curry is a scratch golfer, meaning he shoots even par or better for the course. Approximately, only 2% of golfers can say the same. And per Butch Harmon Jr., widely regarded as the best golf instructor, Curry is incredibly gifted. “He played in a Web.Com event and shot 74-74, which is remarkable for an athlete from another sport. There’s nobody on the PGA Tour that could go play in an NBA game, I guarantee you.”

If Stephen Curry had chosen Golf instead of basketball, there’s no doubt that he’d be the next Tiger Woods. Or given his penchant for changing the game, he might even be changing the landscape of golf.

 Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.