It’s a good life to be a retired Hall of Fame athlete.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar, former baseball star Ozzie Smith told co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stolz a fact that will make almost all weekend hacks jealous.
“I got a chance to play Augusta National three times,” the St. Louis Cardinals legend said during his appearance on the podcast. “I have a buddy of mine from Augusta that is fortunate enough. I was able to do some things with Boys and Girls Club down there and gotten a chance to play there.”
That’s not the only track Smith has checked off that most still, and likely will forever have on their bucket list. He also has toured around Sage Valley, another Dixieland delight just across the South Carolina border from Augusta in Graniteville.
“I’ve been very fortunate since I retired to have had the opportunity to play some pretty nice courses and, you know, looking forward to playing them again,” he said.
He listed off a few others, like Las Vegas’ Shadow Creek, one of the most expensive tee times in the country, and Arizona’s Whisper Rock. He’s even ventured down under to New Zealand’s Tara Iti Golf Club.
He also gave the classic answer of Pebble Beach. But Smith said he enjoys some of the other courses around Pebble on the Monterey Peninsula just as much as the six-time U.S. Open host. But there’s one spot in that area he hasn’t yet pegged it at.
“I’ve never played Cypress Point,” Smith said. “Can you believe I’ve never played?”
Given that a tee time at Cypress is quite possibly one of the hardest gets in the world, we’ll say yes, we can believe he hasn’t played there, but the 67-year-old still has time to change that.
You can listen to the full episode, including what Smith focuses on when he watches golf and how he fell in love with the game, below.
