Who ls Your Favorite Golfing Wrestler?

Few sports have the capacity to bring together athletes, entertainers and the general public quite like the game of golf. So when a few dozen superstars from the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) company gathered to celebrate an upcoming WrestleMania event in Houston, TX, guests like Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman prepared themselves for almost anything to break out.

And it did.

By KEN HOFFMAN
2009 Houston Chronicle

My Favorite WrestleMania Moment.

Last Friday, I jumped into a golf cart at Wildcat Golf Course and watched about 25 World Wrestling Entertainment superstars play a round of golf with WrestleMania sponsors and business partners.

Just because you're good at pro wrestling, it doesn't mean ...

I asked WWE world champion Edge, "What's your handicap?"

Edge broke up. "I don't even know what that means. I have hit a golf ball twice in my life before today. I have made contact every time, though, and my team has used my shot a couple of times."

Edge, a Canadian, added, "I'm just hitting line drives. Basically, what I'm doing is playing hockey. I should be wearing my New Jersey Devils jersey. That would look weird. But I love being out there on a beautiful sunny day. It's not a bad way to spend a Friday."

The only part of the golf tournament Edge didn't like?

"The 5 a.m. wake-up call."

But Edge, your character is a wild party animal. Isn't 5 a.m. usually when you're just going to bed?

"Nah, I'm boring," he said. "I'm in bed by 10 o'clock at night. Fooled you, huh?"

If Edge had worn a Devils hockey jersey on the golf course, he still would have been only the second-weirdest-looking guy out there.

Sgt. Slaughter, the Marine drill instructor, showed up wearing a camouflage golf hat (the old-style that Payne Stewart used to wear), khaki golf pants and combat boots with golf spikes.

"This stuff isn't easy to find," he laughed. "You have to have courage to wear camouflage golf clothes."

The last time Sgt. Slaughter wrestled in Houston, it was WrestleMania 17 at the Astrodome.

"That was one of the three best WrestleManias ever, along with WrestleMania 3 and 7," he said. "The Iron Sheik won a battle royal, but he cheated and broke some rules. (The Iron Sheik cheated? Duh!) So I jumped back in the ring and put him in the Cobra Clutch. That sort of evened things out."

Kofi Kingston, from Jamaica, mon, had two firsts in Houston. It was his first featured match at WrestleMania, and it was his first time playing golf. The bright yellow knee socks were a clue.

"The guys I'm playing with are showing me the ropes, teaching me how to hold the club and get my form right," he said. "I love this. There is a golf course right where I live. I'm going to get more involved with golf when I get home now."

The biggest spectacle at WWE golf day, in more ways than one, was the Big Show -- all 7 feet and 441 pounds of him.

He didn't exactly have a delicate touch with his short irons. On one hole, he was about 50 yards from the green and hit a 9-iron. When he was done, he was about 100 yards from the green, on the other side.

Strangely, no one laughed.

"I embarrass myself every night by wearing spandex in the ring. So I don't mind embarrassing myself out here -- at least I'm wearing normal clothes. To me, golf is like making love. You don't have to be any good at it to enjoy it."

Editor's Note:
In answer to our leading question: Are golfers considered athletes?
Take a look at Tiger Woods' physique and the rest of the Top 10 world ranked players, consider the amount of time they spend each day on physical conditioning and you have the answer . . . a resounding yes.

The following article was but a portion of Mr. Hoffman's column. For WWE devotees here is the rest of the story.