‘It’s kind of like therapy’: Matt Ryan describes golf relationship since NFL retirement

Longtime Subpar listeners know that former NHL defenseman Mike Commodore is one of Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz’s favorite guests. And on this week’s episode of Subpar, longtime NFL quarterback Matt Ryan added to Commodore’s lore by sharing a fun story right off the bat.

“It was my first time ever being at Whisper Rock, and D.A. [retired quarterback Derek Anderson] kind of set it up for us. I was there with a couple of buddies,” Ryan began. “I think it was me and Matthew Stafford were playing together that day with Commie. And we played 36 holes of golf, and about like four or five holes into it, you know, he, he gets a couple of cocktails, right. And he’s like, nobody can drink tequila with me. No one can. And me and Staff are like, we’re not trying to, we believe you. I’m like 34 years old at the time. I’m like, I’m comfortable with myself.

“So anyhow, we play the entire day, we play 36 holes of golf,” he continued. “We go into the men’s grill, which is, I still think, one of the greatest places on the planet to hang out after a round of golf. And we’re having drinks or whatever, hanging out in the men’s grill, and we all make this plan to meet up at one of the bars in Scottsdale.

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“And so we all go back to our place, shower, change, we head back, grab bite to eat, and then we show up at this bar, and Commie’s sitting at the bar and we walk in, we’re like, Commie, what’s up, man? And he like, turns around. He had no idea who we were. Nine hours we spent together that entire day. He was in like a blazer and everything. He was looking good. Had no idea who we were.”

Commodore is just one of the many famous names that Ryan has teed it up with in recent years. The longtime Atlanta Falcon has become a regular on the celebrity pro-am circuit, with a T16 finish at this year’s American Century Championship. So how would he describe the current state of his game?

“It’s like, right around scratch, but I’ve been playing s—– honestly, lately,” he said. “But I’m hitting it pretty good, I just can’t get off the tee. My driver goes all over the place.”

Like many former professional athletes, Ryan says golf helps fill the competitive void of being done with the week-in, week-out grind of your sport.

“I love playing,” he said. “To me it’s like, it’s hard when you’re done, right? Like your whole life you’re wired to go work out, go throw, go do that kind of stuff. I love practicing, to be honest with you. I like going to the range. I like hitting balls. I like chipping and putting. For me, it’s kind of like therapy.”

“That’s a quarterback, one hundred percent,” Stoltz said. “You’re so used to routine to get better, watch the tape, do all the stuff. You do the same thing in golf.”

For more from Ryan, Stoltz and Knost, including Ryan’s Super Bowl prediction, check out the full interview below.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of female varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everyone on the masthead. She can out-hustle them in the office, too, where she’s primarily responsible for producing both print and online features, and overseeing major special projects, such as GOLF’s inaugural Style Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview series, “A Round With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in both in the magazine and in video form on GOLF.com.

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