This is not the type of story in which the reader leaves feeling better about their golf game. No, this is quite the opposite of that.
Larry Fitzgerald is unquestionably one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history. He’s made 11 Pro Bowls, been an All-Pro three times and was named to the NFL’s All-Time Team in 2019. He is second in NFL history in career receiving yards and receptions, and sixth in career touchdowns.
He’s also unquestionably one of the best people in professional sports. The 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year winner has been widely lauded for his charitable and philanthropic work, and is beloved in the Arizona area, where he has played his entire career.
He is also, evidently, a terrific golfer. Seriously. Some people really do have it all.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast, Fitzgerald told hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz the stories of his first two holes-in-one (yes — he has three). And while it’s hard not to be a little envious of the future Hall-of-Famer’s golf game, it’s impossible not to be downright jealous of his ace stories — one of which happened in front of former President Barack Obama.
“Each one was special in its own regard,” Fitzgerald said. “The thing that made my first one so special was that it was with my father. My dad’s been playing golf for over 40 years and he never had a hole-in-one. [I hit] a 6-iron it might have got off the ground like this high, and it was a back-right pin on No. 7, and that’s not an easy pin to get to. It rode the contour on the hill and I lost it, I didn’t see where it went.”
When the Fitzgeralds made it to the flagstick, they found Larry Jr.’s ball in the bottom of the hole. Larry Sr. looked on in disbelief. His son had played the game for less than a year, but had already usurped him in a lifetime golf achievement.
“We got up there and it was in the hole, and my dad kind of begrudgingly goes, ‘Son, congratulations,'” Fitzgerald said. “I’d been playing six months and I made my first, but he’d never made one. He was happy for me, but he was like ‘How the f— did he do that?’
So it was cool to do it with him, and my buddy Andre was there, so to be able to experience it with those two.”
Then, not long after his first ace, Fitzgerald invited former President Barack Obama to play Seminole. The first tee jitters for both President and player subsided in time for Fitz’s tee shot on the par-3 13th hole, where the 37-year-old jarred it for his second-ever ace.
“And then, doing it with President Obama, c’mon man,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s nobody you look up to and admire more, and I was so nervous going out there and playing with them. So to be able to do that is a moment you’ll never forget. So they’re both unique and special in their own way.”
James Colgan is a news and features editor at GOLF, writing stories for the website and magazine. He manages the Hot Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and utilizes his on-camera experience across the brand’s platforms. Prior to joining GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse University, during which time he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Long Island, where he is from. He can be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.
