
via Imago
Image Courtesy: IMAGO

via Imago
Image Courtesy: IMAGO
Many basketball players have a thing for golf. Some of them have even participated in celebrity golf tournaments and bagged the honor. And therefore, basketball players playing and talking about golf is very normal. But a player talking something negative about golf is very uncommon.
But this 4x NBA champion appeared on a podcast and had a lot of comments about golf. These opinions might be surprising for a lot of fans and supporters of the sport.
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4x NBA champ talks about golf tours
When it comes to life outside of basketball, Andre Iguodala has a passion that rivals his love for the game. The 6-foot-6 NBA star, who was born in Springfield, Illinois to a Nigerian father, has a second passion for golf. When he isn’t showing off his abilities on the floor, one can find him engaged in all golf-related activities. His passion for the game is clear in everything he does, from watching LPGA events to reading papers about bunker escapes. He even visits local golf shops to have his swing examined by a launch monitor.

Iguodala casually reveals his path from being a 36-handicap golfer three years ago to his current handicap of 15.6. Golf is more than just a pastime for Iguodala, according to his business manager, Rudy Cline-Thomas. “I think he wants to be a golf pro when his NBA career ends,” Cline-Thomas adds. Iguodala’s dedication to polishing his talents and improving his handicap indicates that he takes the challenge seriously.
As he is so keen about golf, in a recent interview, Iguodala was asked about watching the game. To which he replied, “If I want to learn how to be good at golf, I need to watch the women as opposed to watching the men. In terms of fundamentals, women don’t swing out of their shoes or go crazy. I think the guy who was no 1 in fairway accuracy in the PGA tour be 77.”
On the women’s tour, he continued, the course may be a little shorter, “but the women are hitting the ball away straighter than men. They are more in control of their bodies, they’re not over-swinging. Everything has a flow and a rhythm to it that most amateurs need to follow the formula.”
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Iguodala’s golfing journey
Pete Myers, Iguodala’s former assistant coach, taught him how to hit a draw. Draw is a shot that turns from right to left for a right-handed golfer. Iguodala’s improved understanding of the game’s fundamentals has spurred his enthusiasm for the golf, and he’s embracing the challenge of mastering this sophisticated sport. As Iguodala has studied more about golf, he has discovered that it is a game of opposites.

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Andre Iguodala
He concentrates on an in-to-out club path to create a curved shot while hitting a draw. He compares his swing path to the hands of a clock, swinging from 1 to 7 o’clock, flipping his hands over to generate the desired draw. Surprisingly, Iguodala does not save his golf adventures for weekends. When his schedule allows, he frequently squeezes in 18 or even 36 holes. His love of golf extends to playing on road trips and even game days. In fact, he once played on the same day as a game, allowing him to relax and focus before a significant win.
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Even after making some controversial comments, one thing is certain: Iguodala is very knowledgeable about the sport of golf. His devotion to perfection shows through demonstrating his enthusiasm for golf, which is as strong as his success in basketball.
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