He’s the man many consider the greatest basketball player of all time — five MVPs, six championships, and a whole bunch of highlight reels that made grown men question their career choices. Michael Jordan built his legend by turning hardwood into his personal stage, dunking, defending, and dominating like no one else did before him.
But beyond the court, MJ had quite a few hobbies that turned into full-blown passions. One of them was hitting the golf course. But before he started playing 36 holes a day and building his own exclusive clubhouses, he actually looked down on the sport, calling it, well, not manly enough.
“I would have loved that challenge,” MJ revealed when asked whether he could have been a pro golfer. “I always thought golf was, at a young time, you know, a sissy sport in some respects. And that was at a very childish age. I wasn’t attracted to it at the time…”
Golf gave MJ challenges just like basketball did
This admission came from a guy who made a career out of treating competitors like prey, wanting to pounce on any given challenge. But as it turns out, golf would go on to push MJ in ways even basketball couldn’t.
“And I think now, knowing the game, and knowing how challenging it is each and every time you step on the course. I would have loved to have that opportunity to challenge myself as often as the game challenges me now,” the Chicago Bulls legend added.
“I would have loved that challenge,” Jordan said when asked if he could’ve gone pro in golf. “Knowing the game, and knowing how challenging it is each and every time you step on the course… I would have loved to have that opportunity to challenge myself as often as the game challenges me now.”
That’s the thing about MJ — it’s not just about winning, it’s about battling something that fights back. And while nobody ever confused the PGA Tour with the NBA Playoffs, golf tested Jordan’s mind and patience like few things could. One bad swing, one mental slip, and it’s over. There’s no coach to bail you out, no Scottie Pippen to take the pressure off. Just you, the ball, and all the noise in your head.
His transition from calling it a “sissy sport” to playing it passionately and building private courses like The Grove XXIII speaks volumes. He found something that hit the same competitive nerve that hoops once did. And knowing MJ, once he got beaten a few times on the course, it was over. That was all the smoke he needed.
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Jordan almost missed the ’92 Olympics
That obsession ran so deep that he nearly passed on the biggest basketball honor of his life because of it — representing the Stars and Stripes in the 1992 Olympics.
Back when USA Basketball was assembling the Dream Team for Barcelona, there was a moment of real concern. According to then-chairman Rod Thorn, Mike’s status was suddenly in question. Not because of injury. Not because of burnout. But because he was locked into an amateur golf tournament.
“Early on, he told Russ [Granik] he would play,” Thorne disclosed at the time. “Then later, there was a report from a golf tournament he was playing in, I think it was an amateur tournament in the Midwest, that he had changed his mind. I called him at the Tournament and he confirmed that he was going to play. After that, we always thought he was a go, regardless of various reports otherwise.”
Jordan wanted in — he just didn’t want the public to know yet. And once he officially suited up, the rest was history.
What started off as a disdain for the sport became a match made in heaven as Michael ended up building his post-NBA identity around it. Only the GOAT could make falling in love with golf feel like another ruthless conquest.
Related: “I never saw one free agent come to the Bulls and say that they wanna play with Michael” – Scottie Pippen reinforces the notion that no other big-name players had interest in playing with MJ
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