Ahead of the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, Soly catches up with Steph Curry who was just named the 2023 Charlie Sifford Award winner for his efforts in advancing diversity in the game of golf. We cover Steph's work with the Underrated Golf Tour and the Howard University golf teams plus his current competitive golf aspirations and his plans for golf when his basketball career comes to a close. We also get into his thoughts on the Ryder Cup and some comparisons to his experiences with USA Basketball.
Timestamps:
0:00 Steph Curry's golf game
07:10 Underrated Golf Tour
13:20 Howard University
18:50 Life after basketball, The Match
24:20 Ryder Cup and USA Basketball overlap
Here’s a sneak peek of the convo with Steph... (Note: Full answers edited for clarity and conciseness.)
Soly: Is there no golf during basketball season? You gotta get some stuff in while you're on the road. I know you got a favorite course in each city when the weather permits.
Steph Curry: Yeah, it is kind of hit or miss. I would say it probably averages like twice a month during the season. You're dealing with daylight, obviously, with practice. Like you can't get outta the gym early enough to go out and make it worth it. Then we're hitting east coast cities most of the winter. So yeah, I'd say probably twice a month. But spring and then come playoff time, I actually play a lot more. It's great. Kind of a balance of the intensity and the pressure of the season and being able to get away for a little bit when I can fit it in and not wear myself out either.
Soly: Somebody's gotta get into your Wikipedia page. They have you as a five-handicap in there. What is the actual index these days?
Steph Curry: So after every handicap disclaimer, you gotta have a whole kind of essay before I actually say the number. I had played the best golf in my life this summer. I had to put in a bunch of tournament scores this year, so I actually got down to a plus-three at one point. So obviously I wasn't winning too many bets after that. Definitely a nice vanity handicap, but it's tough when, I'll probably play to it for probably three weeks in the summer and then the closer you get to the season, you gotta carry it, but we'll see what happens.