Cricket news: Inside Australian cricketers’ obsession with golf, and how it exploded during Covid pandemic

Australian cricketers love golf, with non-playing days on tour seen as a chance to tee off. But the spate of golfing injuries over the past year has exposed the sheer glut of time spent on courses.

Picture the scene. It’s the week of The Masters at Augusta. Jon Rahm is padded up and taking guard. Brooks Koepka is down the other end and ready to back up. Cameron Smith is standing at the top of his mark. Tiger Woods is at mid-on, about to walk in with the bowler.

Of course this is fantasy land. This won’t happen. Golfers – for the most part – don’t play cricket.

But when asked about his plans for the eve of the World Cup final, Josh Hazlewood made it clear he would be taking his talents to one of Ahmedabad’s finest golf courses. And this is far from unusual.

On the eve of the Cricket World Cup final, Josh Hazlewood was playing golf instead of spending time in the nets. And this is far from unusual. Picture: Adam Yip

As a rule, Australian cricketers and their entourages love golf. For the bulk of the Aussie team, non-playing days on tour are viewed as a chance to tee off. The spate of golfing injuries in the cricket world over the past year and a bit – Jonny Bairstow (broken leg), Josh Inglis (badly-injured hand) and Glenn Maxwell (concussion) – points less to the bizarre perils of the sport and more to the sheer glut of hours being spent by many global cricketers on courses in recent years.

It is not that cricketers playing golf is a new phenomenon. But it has been taken to another level in recent years. There are a few factors at play. Cricketers have a lot more money than they did a generation or two ago. It means they can afford to play at the world’s nicest courses.

The pandemic also dramatically reduced the options for players and staff to fill in their time on tour.

There have been a host of golf related injuries among cricketers in the past 18 months … like Glenn Maxwell’s concussion after falling from a golf buggy. Picture: Sri Lanka Cricket

“It is amazing how many golfers have cricketers play golf now because in my day, half the team might. And if we had a social day everyone would play and they enjoy it but now it’s become a bit of a fascination,” said veteran coach and former player David Saker.

Mitchell Starc has been a golfer for years, but agrees that Covid-19 accelerated interest in the sport from cricketers.

“I loved it before Covid. But certainly once cricket was played through Covid, it introduced a lot of guys to golf because it was the only way we were going to leave a hotel apart from training for cricket. And it’s low impact,” Starc says, before remembering Maxwell falling off a golf cart at the World Cup, and the injuries to Bairstow and Inglis late last year.

“There’s been some silly accidents,” Starc adds with a chuckle.

“For us, it’s a release, it’s four hours out and on course when no one else can touch you. You can turn your phone off if you want.

“I’m in a very fortunate position where I can do that with my wife (Alyssa Healy) as well and there are a few blokes that are quite envious of the fact that I don’t have to ask to play golf. She plays golf and drinks beer and I’m pretty lucky.”

Alyssa Healy and Mitchell Starc have been playing golf for years, and Starc believes Covid-19 accelerated interest in the sport from cricketers. Picture: AAP

On the fateful Monday in Ahmedabad before Australia’s game against England at the World Cup now best-remembered for Maxwell’s accident, a contingent of 20 or so Aussie players, coaches and staff were split into teams in a schoolyard-style format for what Adam Zampa – a non-golfer – dubbed the Jesse Ryder Cup after the former New Zealand basher, with some drinks enjoyed in the middle of a long tournament. “It’s a way to feed your competitive side if you want,” Starc said.

When the Maxwell news emerged, the ever-opinionated former AFL star Kane Cornes questioned on SEN why players were playing a full day of golf in the middle of a cricket tournament, especially given Maxwell was still being managed following the leg break he suffered at a party in late 2022.

“Most cricket fans would argue that this is not a big deal and the players need to unwind … yet he is out playing 36 holes of golf in the extreme heat and finishing in the dark,” Cornes said.

After Maxwell’s concussion, many pundits questioned why our cricket stars were playing so much golf. Picture: Alan Barber

“Were nine holes not enough?” Yet Starc and fellow paceman Scott Boland said that the advice from high-performance staff is that 18 or even 36 holes of golf is excellent preparation for a day in the field, particularly after a lay-off between long-form cricket.

“We get asked a lot how we’re allowed to play golf without being in a golf cart because a lot of footy guys at home will have to be in golf carts or have the physios and S and C (strength and conditioning) ringing (saying) they have to be in golf carts. I have no doubt before the Perth Test match. Certainly Josh and I, and probably a few others will be out on a golf course in Perth, because that’s a great way to condition the legs at a very low impact for a day of Test cricket.

David Warner is rated among the best golfers in Australian cricket. Picture: AAP

“I certainly find it helps me, helps my body as well. Touring life is very sedentary. It’s four hours, I’m not sitting in a hotel room, or four hours I’m not sitting playing the PlayStation or laying on a bed. I’m socialising with my teammates outside and you can do that just about anywhere we go for cricket which is fantastic.”

It also fosters a collegiate environment in a low-key environment. As one team insider noted, it is a way of having important conversations without the formality of a meeting or even a phone call. Such is the obsession with the sport that Cricket Australia even purchased a golf simulator for the team to use during the tour of Pakistan early last year.

And who are the best golfers in Australian cricket?

David Warner and Ricky Ponting both exceptional, Greg Blewett was excellent, while Maxwell’s best is brilliant. But the pick of the bunch in recent times might be now-retired ex-Test spinner Jon Holland.

Originally published as Cricket news: Inside Australian cricketers’ obsession with golf, and how it exploded during Covid pandemic