Golf Q&A: Eddie Murray
with Tom Lang
Former Detroit Lions kicker Eddie Murray loves golf, despite his unusual introduction to the sport, hitting balls in a field in England.
He never played American football until attending Tulane University and setting school records there. He was drafted by the Lions in 1980. During his 11-year Lions career, Murray appeared in 174 games making 244 field goals and scoring 1,113 points. He made the NFL All-Pro team in 1980, was a two-time Pro Bowl selection, and was named a second-team NFL 1980s All-Decade Team. Murray was elected to the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and inducted in 2010.
His best golf handicap was 1.5, and now in his mid-60s he’s at 5.8. He works full time for Hope Network in metro Detroit as a community relations rep/fund raiser. We recently talked about his love for golf.
Question: Do you recall how you fell in love with golf?
Answer: “From age 5 to 15 I lived in England. And the friends I hung out with, playing soccer and rugby and cricket, we would like to just go hit golf balls. Not go play, but back then you just went to open fields, hit them, go find them then hit them again. What was also unique in England at that time was putt-putt, on real grass. You could go to a park, and they’d have an area that was usually nine holes…One big, huge lawn.
“I really got the golf bug in college where a lot of my teammates grew up playing golf. We’d go to Audubon Park (golf course) across from the campus and I’d go with buddies and play out of their bag. I was married in college and my junior year my wife bought me a set of golf clubs for Christmas, and that’s when the bug hit me the most. Now I had all the weapons and things to go out and play.”
Q: What attributes of golf drew you into the game?
A: “It’s always different. Every day the swing is different. It’s the old adage that you have to play with the swing that you take to the course that day. And as you get better you get more command of your swing and what kind of shots you like to play – maybe a draw, a fade, high and low. All of those challenges are there every time you go to the driving range or to the course, that you have to try to overcome. And that’s really what I find intriguing about the game.”
Q: do you see similarities between golf and football, especially the position you played?
A: “Absolutely, there’s a lot of correlations. Like with alignment, finding what your target line is, and swing plane. My swing toward the target kicking a football is what you’re trying to do with a golf club and a golf ball. All of those principles are pretty similar to kicking a football.
“And also having to deal with the elements at the same time. Dealing with wind and rain and cold, heat and all those things are part of the equations in golf as they are in football. Kicking in Green Bay in December is different than kicking in Green Bay in September. Footballs and golf balls don’t travel as far in cold weather and they both do in warm weather.”
Q: Who are some former NFL players you might face on the golf course?
A: “A lot of placekickers were golfers. Al Del Greco (who even became the golf coach at Samford University after the NFL) played during my time period, and we both played on that Celebrity Players Tour before it folded up. That was a fun thing to do because tournament golf is just way different than playing with your buddies. Al was a very good tournament player. Billie Joe Tolliver was another really good player. As an athlete you always like to be challenge and have good competition. I think it really elevates your game, increases your concentration and that’s what is great about golf.”
Q: You seem to be a big supporter of charity golf events. Why is that?
A: “Golf outings are a great way for charities to raise money, but also get the word out about what they do and who they help. For golfers it can be a lot of fun, great networking opportunity, sometimes there is a celebrity involvement as well. I think they are always good win-win situations. It’s good for the charity, it’s good for the people who come play and donate and support the outing.”
Q: Do you have any golf superstitions – and did you also for football?
A: “Not really for golf. But I did have a tradition for football, going out to the field about 45 minutes before specials teams did. Especially at away games I’d walk the field, examine the turf, evaluate the weather and wind. And when I did that, I always liked to chew gum. So, I’d get out 3 sticks of Juicy Fruit gum. Two sticks were not enough, four sticks were too many, but three was my number and I did that for years. At the time it didn’t seem like a superstition … but it sort of became a habit.
“For golf, I don’t have a lucky ball marker, I don’t carry a certain number of tees. There’s enough crazy things you need to think about than worrying about how many damn tees I have in my pocket.”
