Fourteen-year NFL veteran Derek Anderson says he has a slightly addictive personality — especially when it comes to his love for golf.
Despite the fact that he carries a plus-handicap — that is, he’s better than scratch — Anderson is modest about his prowess on the course. In this week’s episode of Subpar, the retired NFL quarterback told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz that he was struck by the quality of World No. 2 Jon Rahm’s ballstriking when they first played together. Anderson and Rahm can be competitive when Rahm gives him six shots per round, and Anderson says he even had a chance to win on the 18th during a November match. But despite going toe-to-toe in net games with Rahm, Anderson has no illusions about the difference between himself and the best players in the world.
“My buddies at home are like, ‘You should try to play [professionally],'” Anderson said. “Dude, I’m not even close to good enough. I can’t even make the U.S. Mid-Am yet.
“I’ve played a bunch of these best ball tournaments with some of the guys that played in college, like a bunch of guys from Texas,” Anderson continued. “You can compete with them for a couple days. You go to a three-day tournament, and these guys, their ballstiking is ridiculous. Even though they don’t really play that much any more, they’re just that much superior of a ballstriker and a golfer than a guy like me that tries so hard and works at it. It’s just a gift.”
To hear more from Anderson, including how he got into the game and his superstitions, check out the full interview below.
Golf.com Editor
As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Issue, which debuted in February 2018. Her original interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.
