How a country-music star walked on to the Texas golf team

George Birge is a talented man. As one half of the duo Waterloo Revival, Birge forged a path for himself during the 2010s as a budding country musician. Since then, he’s gained fame on TikTok and signed a solo deal with the label Records Nashville.

But Birge’s talents aren’t limited to the musical variety. In fact, the Austin, Texas native is also one heck of a golfer.

Back before Birge was ever pursuing a career in music, he was attending his hometown college at the University of Texas. While he was studying there, the golf team staged a walk-on tournament as a sort of preliminary tryout for a spot on the powerhouse golf team.

“Usually it was a ceremonial thing,” Birge said on this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar. “I was lucky enough to win that. And that didn’t earn you a spot, that just earned you a chance to go play in front of coach.”

Not long after, UT coach John Fields invited Birge out to the team’s home course to play a round.

“I’m about as nervous as I’ve ever been on a golf course,” Birge said. “[But] I caught a wind, played some good golf in front of coach and he gave me a bag, a locker and a spot on the team, which to this day I’m forever grateful for.”

As a freshman, Birge got to play alongside future pros such as Jhonattan Vegas, and it was an eye-opening experience.

“I remember in high school thinking that I was a bomber,” Birge said. “I remember the first qualifier playing with Jhonattan Vegas, I hit a drive, a high draw down the middle about 300 yards. He hits a 3-wood past me and then chipped and putted better than me also. I was like, ‘Man, I think I might be in trouble.'”

You can check out Birge’s entire interview below.