Jay Bilas has made a name for himself as a man of many talents — professional basketball player, assistant to the legendary Coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University, and, since 1995, a broadcaster at ESPN.
To top it off, Bilas is also a single-digit handicap, with an index of 5 out of Charlotte Country Club. He also has a membership at top-ranked Pine Valley Golf Club.
On this week’s episode of Subpar, Bilas told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz how he tries to incorporate golf into his daily life as much as possible — and his one golf regret.
Pro basketball to broadcasting: Jay Bilas talks his triple threat of a career
“I play every day that I can,” Bilas said. “And I do something golf-related just about every day. If I can’t play, I’ll go out to the club and hit balls or putt or something like that. I just love it.”
Bilas’ one regret? Not getting started sooner.
“I wish I had played when I was a kid,” he said. “I didn’t take to it when I was a kid, because it seemed like every time I went to my dad’s club, someone was telling me, don’t do this, don’t walk here, be quiet, you’re not allowed to do that.”
Bilas said that his father’s club, Rolling Hills Country Club, juniors were expected to pick the range before they could play.
“Nobody tells me what to do when I’m playing basketball or baseball, or to be quiet,” Bilas said. “There weren’t as many rules.”
It wasn’t until Bilas was playing basketball professionally that he joined his teammates on the course in an effort to kill time between workouts and practice.
“Golf is the only game where you get to destroy private property while intoxicated and you don’t get arrested,” he said. “I think that’s a pretty good gig.”
For more from Bilas, including how he got into broadcasting and his favorite players to watch, check out the full interview below.