Bill Belichick is one of the most brilliant minds sports has ever known. He’s also an avid golfer. Do gridiron smarts transfer to the links? We scoured Ian O’Connor’s new Belichick biography (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $28) to find an answer.
The best part: Shortly after the Giants’ Super Bowl XLVI victory over the Patriots in 2012, Belichick was on the range ahead of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am when Tiger Woods’s caddie, Joe LaCava, approached. LaCava, a Connecticut native and lifelong Giants fan, saw Belichick and loudly proclaimed to a fellow caddie: “How about those G-Men kicking the Patriots’ ass?! A second time!” Belichick, standing five feet away, completely blanked LaCava, never lifting his head, and kept swinging.
The takeaway: Ian O’Connor’s biography on the Patriots head coach sheds further light on the ultra-competitiveness of the 66-year-old football legend. While the book might not have a direct connection to golf, the insight we get into Belichick’s extreme attention to detail during practices and games, preparing his coaching staff and players for any scenario that can arise during a football game, is something all golfers should appreciate. If your game feels a little disorganized, this should be your next read.
