NEW YORK (www.golfdigest.com) - We've seen the games of Michael Bolton,
Vince Gill and Glen Campbell. But Snoop Dogg,
Steven Tyler and Tommy Lee? Andre 3000 and Pink? Not since back in the day when crooners like Sinatra, Crosby, Como, and Sammy Davis Jr. played the game, has golf gripped musicians so feverishly. Nowadays, rappers, rockers, pop and country stars (and even opera singers) are teeing it up. Golf Digest, in its December issue (on newsstands November 7), identifies this diverse group of golf-mad musicians with its ranking of the "Top 100 in Music."
The full list of Golf Digest's "Top 100 in Music" can be viewed now at https://www.golfdigest.com/musicians.
Kenny G, with a plus-0.6 Handicap Index (he not only matches but occasionally scores better than par), is the No. 1 musician in the ranking. A club champion at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA, he plays a lot of his golf with actor Craig T. Nelson. During high school in Seattle, Kenny G. made the golf team but not the jazz band when he first tried out. When his career as a saxophonist took off, he left the game for nearly 20 years but has since returned with a newfound passion.
"With the sax, I learned technique well enough so that it feels like part of my body, and I just express myself. That's where I want to get in golf," he told Golf Digest.
Rounding out the Top 10 in Golf Digest's "Top 100 in Music" are: No. 2 Vince Gill; No. 3 Marty Roe (of country group Diamond Rio); No. 4 Steve Azar (country singer); No. 5 Adrian Young (No Doubt drummer); No. 6 Rudy Gatlin; No. 7 Larry Gatlin; No. 8 Steve Gatlin; No. 9 Josh Kelley (pop-rock artist) and No. 10 Paul Brown (smooth jazz artist).
Among the eclectic crowd of musicians playing golf are: Justin Timberlake (T-15), Branford Marsalis (No. 29), Roger Waters (No. 44), Toby Keith (T-53), reigning American Idol Taylor Hicks (T-58), Celine Dion (No. 62), Bob Dylan (No. 63), Snoop Dogg (T-64), Andre 3000 (T-92), Nick Lachey (T-95), Kid Rock (T-95) and Pink (No. 100).
The highest ranked woman on the list is singer Anne Murray (T-39)-the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No 1 on the US charts. An 11- handicap, Murray typically shoots in the low to mid 80s.
The connection between golf and music is no surprise to many artists. According to Vince Gill (No. 2), "musicians and golfers understand each other. We know what it takes to have to perform. We know there is a lot of alone time."
Several musicians in the ranking credit golf with helping them kick drug and alcohol addictions. Shock rocker Alice Cooper (T-11) said, "I traded one addiction for another. But golf is the crack of sports. Once I took it seriously I loved it. It absolutely saved my life." Robby Krieger ((No. 22), guitarist for The Doors agrees, "Golf is definitely an addiction, but it's one of the few good addictions. It's probably the only reason I'm still alive."
While golf had been viewed as decidedly uncool by rockers for years, they no longer slink to the links. No Doubt drummer Adrian Young (No. 5) largely attributes the game's popularity among musicians to Tiger Woods. "Tiger is huge as far as attracting musicians to golf," he says. "I want him to win every week. Mostly it's just watching greatness. Musicians are suckers for a virtuoso."
In addition to its "Top 100 in Music" list, Golf Digest will be hosting the second annual Golf Digest Celebrity Invitational at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles on Monday, November 6. Benefiting the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the event will feature musicians and celebrities from TV and film paired with amateur participants.
THE TOP 25 FROM GOLF DIGEST'S "TOP 100 IN MUSIC" RANKING
DECEMBER ISSUE (ON NEWSSTANDS NOVEMBER 7, 2007)
1. Kenny G.
2. Vince Gill
3. Marty Roe
4. Steve Azar
5. Adrian Young
6. Rudy Gatlin
7. Larry Gatlin
8. Steve Gatlin
9. Josh Kelley
10.Paul Brown
11. Lloyd Cole
12. Alice Cooper
13. Dan Tyminski
14. Alan White
15. Darius Rucker
16. Jason Scheff
17. Justin Timberlake
18. Mac Davis
19. Huey Lewis
20. Dweezil Zappa
21. Glen Campbell
22. Robby Krieger
23. Engelbert Humperdinck
23. Will Pugh
25.George Strait
