![How good is Tom Brady at golf? Handicap, highlights and history of Buccaneers quarterback heading into The Match How good is Tom Brady at golf? Handicap, highlights and history of Buccaneers quarterback heading into The Match](https://trangangolf.storage.googleapis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/23150242/412962084_779100577563268_3371857793184435682_n.jpg)
Tom Brady is starting to become a fixture of The Match.
Brady appeared in the second edition of The Match, when he teamed up with Phil Mickelson to take on Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning. In July 2021, he again played alongside Mickelson to face Bryson DeChambeau and Aaron Rodgers in the fourth edition.
He’ll be back on the links at the Wynn Golf Club, when he pairs with Rodgers to face Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in the sixth version of The Match.
Fans are accustomed to seeing Brady on the football field. He’s appeared in 365 NFL games in his career. But what can they expect to see out of him when he tees off in the Paradise, Nevada, golf course? The Sporting News breaks it down.
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Tom Brady’s handicap
Brady might be a legend on the gridiron, but he’s far more mortal on the course. Before Brady played with Mickelson in the 2021 edition of The Match, he had a handicap of 8.1.
Among the golfers that will compete in the June 2022 edition, his handicap is the second-highest, trailing only Allen’s 9.0 handicap.
Is Tom Brady good at golf?
Driving
Brady can put some power behind his swing. During the 2021 The Match, he hit a powerful tee shot on the 392-yard par 4 hole at the Wynn Golf Club that spotted him on the green.
392 yards to 10 feet.@TomBrady has the deep ball working. pic.twitter.com/cybfMkeAau
The shot off the tee at that par 4 doesn’t have much of a curve to it as it was sent on a line straight to the green.
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Of course, he was teeing off atop a hill and only hit the ball 167 mph, so likely won’t go as far on flatter courses. That driving ability, though, should still be able to play.
Not every drive has gone so well, however. He’s also been seen having some issues hooking the ball left.
Tom Brady is all of us. https://t.co/yo4WH5A8jL pic.twitter.com/FEpaelCZOA
Relatable content @TomBrady.pic.twitter.com/J9ixjKzNOK
Irons
This is where all the highlights can be found. Brady recently had a film crew out capturing this hole-out on a par 4 course in what he described as a “once-in-a-lifetime shot,” according to Golf Digest.
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While some have speculated whether the video is edited, there have been plenty of other Brady highlights of him shooting with an iron that show his prowess approaching the green, like this hole-out in the May 2020 edition of The Match.
And then Tom Brady does that.Apparently he just needed some motivation from Charles Barkley. #TheMatch pic.twitter.com/LLASJoPY9l
Brady’s chip shots could be better, but he and Rodgers still have the younger players beat, if this chip challenge was any indication.
The trash talking begins between @TomBrady, @AaronRodgers12, @JoshAllenQB and @PatrickMahomes ahead of The Match.The QBs had to bring a “receiver” for the chip challenge.Brady and Rodgers beat Mahomes and Allen 7-2.pic.twitter.com/u7aU9WZWwR
MORE: Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes emphasize friendship ahead of The Match vs. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers
Putting
Brady’s putting game also looks like it should be up to par with the rest of the field. Before he and Mickelson faced DeChambeau and Rodgers, Brady sank three straight putts on the green, dedicating each one to the three golfers he’d be facing in The Match.
Brady’s putting game has received praise from at least one professional golfer. WBZ reported that Rickie Fowler played a round with Brady at Friar’s Head in Baiting Hollow, New York, and liked what he saw out of Brady on the green.
“Tell you what, Tom Brady can putt,” Fowler said. “If I can take that into this week, I think that’s one thing I took off of him that’ll help me.”
That doesn’t mean he’s been perfect in the short game.
Tom Brady is me (and everybody who doesn’t get paid to play golf) after every putt. #THEMATCH pic.twitter.com/gHZYOwUmuz
And if he busts out a wedge on the putting green, watch out.
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Best golf moments
There might not be a better shot on the course than Brady’s iron shot in The Match, when he sank the hole-out against Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning.
He’s also gone to the links with some of the biggest names in sports. Back in 2014, he teed off with Jordan Spieth, who had just been named the 2013 PGA Rookie of the Year.
He also teamed up with Michael Jordan in 2006 to win the Jordan Celebrity Invitational.
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Brady also recently got in a round of golf with seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton at the Big Pilot Challenge Miami Beach.
And he certainly had some highlights during his previous two appearances in The Match.
Tom Brady golf clubs
Brady’s clubs for The Match 2022 haven’t been revealed, but back in the 2020 edition, here’s what he used, according to Golf Digest.
- Driver: Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero, 9 degrees
- 3-wood: TaylorMade SIM
- Irons: Titleist U510; (3-6) Titleist T-MB; 7-PW Titleist T100
- Wedges: PXG Milled (54, 60 degrees)
- Putter: TaylorMade Ghost Monza
A good set of clubs, to be sure, but Brady might need to learn to improve how he cares for his clubs. At last year’s The Match, he used cooler water to clean his clubs, which drew the ire of the golf world.
Tom Brady just cleaned his club out of the cooler with drinks inside and I think this deserves an auto loss of hole. pic.twitter.com/YVx7VwNFUI
MORE: Tom Brady sinks a ‘hole-in-one’ ahead of The Match and crazy drone footage captures everything
Tom Brady golf attire
Brady doesn’t seem to bring out any outrageous outfits when he heads to the course.
After he posted the video of his iron shot with the drone, he attached links to the shirt and pants he wore — which are part of his official Brady brand attire — so anyone else can look like Brady when golfing.
https://t.co/44g5u4fxKw pic.twitter.com/bQkUifQNol
But his clothes aren’t always the most durable. When he collected his hole-out in his first appearance in The Match, Brady had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction.
Tommy doin lots of squats and lunges….🍑 #TheMatch2 pic.twitter.com/QwmcjjHwRl
MORE: Aaron Rodgers pulls no punches against Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes talking about The Match
What to expect from Tom Brady in The Match?
Expect to see some up-and-down golfing from Brady. Overall, he’s an inconsistent golfer, even if he has posted some highlights.
But in this alternate-shot match play, he can lean, at times, on Rodgers, who is nearly four strokes better based on their handicaps.