If you live in the Bay Area, and you’re really into golf, Steph Curry stories aren’t hard to come by.
In fact, they’re nearly impossible to avoid.
Most of them revolve around the hoop superstar’s genial demeanor and generosity, even when the cameras aren’t on him. Curry signing autographs for hours after pro-ams. Curry showing up, unannounced, at junior golf clinics to hand out shoes and hang with the kids. Those sorts of things.
A couple of months ago, while playing as a guest at Lake Merced Golf Club, in San Francisco, I heard another story that points to what the man is all about.
Seems that earlier this season, Curry, too, had played a guest round at Lake Merced, though his appearance caused a bit more of a stir than mine did. On what was then the 11th hole (the course is now in the midst of a renovation, and the old routing is being reworked), a par-4 that runs along the edge of a residential neighborhood, Curry sees a couple of boys shooting hoops in a backyard. So he drops his clubs, heads over to the tall fence that separates the course from the homes, and asks the stunned kids if he can join them.
Um…sure?!
And just like that, Curry scales the fence and gives the kids an impromptu shootaround they’ll never forget.
Eventually, Curry goes back to playing golf, completes his round and resumes his life as a NBA icon. But his impact lingers. Word gets around. And the next day, as play gets underway at Lake Merced, members notice that dozens of kids have gathered in that same backyard, clutching at the chain-link, peering through the fence, hoping for a repeat performance. It didn’t happen. Not that day, anyway.
But given Curry’s fondness for the game, and the way he carries himself in the world, you’ve got to figure that similar moments involving small gestures that mean so much are bound to take place again. And again.
