Roger Federer Explains Why Golf Is Becoming His New Hobby
“I just want to get to a 12 handicap as quick as possible.”
Taking up golf in retirement is far from a novel idea, but it takes a bit more courage when you had to exit your previous profession due a bad knee, or when you’re accustomed to winning more than 80% of the time. At least that’s what we imagine. “I just want to be good enough so I don’t have to collect all the balls in the bushes,” Roger Federer told us at a press event supporting the launch of his new signature Wilson tennis rackets last week.
In general, the pattern tends to be that when a public figure posts about golf for the first time on Instagram, the internet explodes and said video is reposted numerous times on golf and tennis accounts alike. That’s exactly what happened when Federer shared a video of his swing two months ago with the caption “Trying to pick up a new hobby.” Comments came thick and fast from the PGA TOUR, LIV Golf, and ATP Tour‘s accounts as well as fellow athletes like Carlos Alcaraz, Nelly Korda and Min Woo Lee.
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Rafael Nadal has been spotted on the golf course as early as 2007 and has maintained the sport as a consistent hobby over the years, while Novak Djokovic took it up more recently and appeared alongside Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Similar to tennis, golf is a sport you can play throughout most of your life and safely avoid injury if you’re careful. But beyond that, both sports have been experiencing something of a revival in recent years, shedding their elitist roots as new players embrace their numerous benefits. And every time a tastemaker like Roger Federer, Justin Bieber or DJ Khaled makes their interest in the game known, the perception shifts even further.
“I’ve always wanted to make sure that we don’t forget how good the people were dressed in tennis,” Federer told Hypegolf. “Sometimes preppy, cool, also sometimes on the edge of things. And this is the same now carrying over into pickleball, paddle and golf as well for that matter.”
Two years since putting an end to his professional tennis career, Roger Federer is busy as ever. Although he may technically be “retired,” his sponsorships with Uniqlo, On, Wilson are keeping him in the public eye when he’s not simply at home being a father. He tried golf briefly early in his tennis career, but now all four of his children and wife Mirka play. Naturally, that’s ignited a spark. “We’ll see how good I become, but I just want to get to a 12 handicap as quick as possible and then we’ll see,” says a hopeful Federer. There’s no doubt plenty of people would be willing to help him get there.
Check out the highlights from our interview with Federer now on Hypegolf.
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