George Brett is one of baseball’s sweetest-swinging hitters ever. With 3,154 career hits — the most ever for a third baseman — Brett firmly entrenched himself among baseball’s greatest natural talents.
But Brett’s ability as a ballplayer might pale in comparison to his capacity with a putter in his hand, as he explained to hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar.
As Brett tells it, the story of one of his finest golf achievement begins with a putter and a late afternoon round of golf.
“I had like a splint on my ankle and we’re walking and we’ve had a cooler of beer obviously,” Brett said. “All of the sudden I’m walking by like the 3rd hole and I’m walking with a putter in my hand.”
As Brett meandered along the fairway, his playing partner lined up a shot and swung, hitting a low worm-burner off the blade of the club directly at the Hall-of-Famer.
“He says, ‘Hey, look out, fore!’ I see the ball, this is an honest-to-god true story,” Brett said. “I look at it, I swing at it, I hit it right on the sweet spot of the putter. He’s probably 100 yards out. Ball flies and lands five feet from where he was standing.”
Brett’s playing partner gave him a look of astonishment.
James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.