Of Superstars And Duffers
OF SUPERSTARS AND DUFFERS
CAMRON E. BUSSARD
PGA pro David Edwards has won almost a million bucks playing golf, but would rather play around with motorcycles. After riding with MX star Jeff Ward, his golfing days just might be numbered.
JEFF WARD WAS STUCK IN THE SAND. IT WAS NOT THE first time in the day, nor would it be the last. You would think that the highly paid racer, a two-time national supercross and two-time AMA outdoor
motocross champion, could handle sand better. But then, it would have helped if Ward was on his KX250; instead, all he had was a handful of golf clubs, and they were getting him nowhere fast.
But Ward didn’t seem to mind the sand traps all that much because as an enthusiastic amateur golfer, he was in the middle of the opportunity of a lifetime, playing 18 holes with one of the top professional golfers on the PGA tour, David Edwards.
Only the day before, Edwards, who has won almost a million dollars playing golf, had set a course record of 63 at the PGA West Palmer course during the annual Bob Hope Classic. But what is most interesting about Edwards (no relation to Cycle Worlds similarly named Editor) is that he boasts an almost fanatical love for dirtbikes, and spends so much of his free time at it that his manager, Rocky Hambric, says, “If it weren’t for motorcycles, Edwards would be a much more successful golfer.” Edwards is also an ardent spectator: For the last few years, the PGA tour has been in San Diego at the same time as the supercross, and Edwards has been spotted at the races with a half a dozen or so other golf pros in tow.
When Edwards found out that Ward was a golfer, he eagerly agreed to exchange a round of golf at the LaQuinta resort in Palm Springs, California, for a day of riding with Ward at Ward’s practice area. And right from the start, the two professional athletes found out that they had much in common. They are about the same size, approximately 5 foot 7 and 1 55 pounds. And both have a rather dry sense of humor, leaning toward understatement rather than hyperbole.
Ward liked the idea that Edwards was such an avid dirtbiker and supercross fan, and was clearly excited about knocking some balls around with a Pro on a championship course. He showed up for the match sporting brand-new golf cleats and ultra-hip, Kawasaki-green Oakley Blade sunglasses. “If he wore those glasses on the pro tour,” Edwards joked, “the rules committee would fine him $500.” Nonetheless, Ward, who plays about 1 5 rounds of golf a year, quickly adapted to the country-club lifestyle as he stepped into the clubhouse. “Boy,” he said between
sips of lemonade, “this sure beats sitting in the back of a truck huddled around a little heater to try and stay warm.” As we waited for our tee time, we had a grand view of the intimidating mountain course. “Golf courses are getting more difficult." explained Edwards, as we looked over a course dotted with deep pot bunkers, water hazards and lots of sand around the greens. "It seems that the
OTHER DUFFERS ON GOLF:
“Golf is a way that I judge myself, and it’s a great way to meet people. But I always play to have fun.”
—Kenny Roberts, three-time GP world champion.
object is not to see who can get the best score, but just to see who can survive. It's a lot like the supercross tracks, where only a couple of guys can get around with skill, and the rest of the pack flounders.”
Both men bemoaned that in each of their sports more and more artificial obstacles are being used to make the events more thrilling for spectators. “At the Daytona Supercross,” Ward complained, “they lay telephone poles under the dirt so the whoops hold their shape. When you hit those whoops there’s no give at all. It’s brutal.”
Once on the golf course, Ward was impressive. His grip was bad, his swing decidedly un-textbook, but because he is such a delicately honed athlete with tremendous eyehand coordination, he usually made good contact with the ball, and hit some herculean shots. It didn’t always go where he wanted, but it almost always went far. Edwards, after watching Ward for a bit, imparted some zen-like advice: “Golf is like riding a motorcycle, you have to be smooth and feel the club like you feel the bike working beneath you.”
OTHER DUFFERS ON GOLF:
“My handicap is my swing, so this season, going to Europe and all, will be very hard on my game.”
—Bubba Shobert, three-time national champion.
Edwards then proceeded to put on an awesome display of accurate shots and sweetly stroked putts. He also offered Ward a few more-concrete tips. Nonetheless, Ward said, “Even if he played with a bag over his head, he would still beat me.”
Two days later, we met Ward for a dirt-riding session. He practices in a used-up, burned-out chunk of earth that has seen better years, but for his purposes of riding to stay in shape, the area is perfect. Edwards, who hails from Edmond, Oklahoma, looked out over the jagged, rocky terrain, and was a bit intimidated at first, especially by the steep hills and the abundance of rocks. “If rocks were worth anything,” he said, “you guys would all be rich.” As he slipped into his riding gear, Edwards kept reminding us, “I’m not interested in becoming a motocross star, I just want to ride down the mountain and not get hurt.”
Not getting hurt is one of those areas where Ward and Edwards sing out of the same hymn book. Said Ward, “I used to ski when I was young and fearless, but I would see the moguls and try to turn them all into double-jumps,and before I would know it, I would be on my back. Now I don’t ski.”
Instead, the factory Kawasaki MX star lifts weights, runs and rides bicycles, and is in such good shape that he turns in near-Pro times in biathelons. Ward, 27, says that at the supercrosses he is content to let the younger riders be the first to do the triple-jumps. These days, he has no qualms at all about doing the risky jumps, but only when necessary.
Edwards, 32, then talked about the risks he takes to ride: “Jeff is not going to hurt his career by playing golf, but if I suffer the least little injury, it hurls my swing, and if that goes, then I’m out of a job.”
With that bit of cautionary rhetoric from Edwards, we expected him to putt around the bottom of the hill, content to watch Ward do skyshots. Instead, he set a moderately swift clip around an impromptu track laid out between three hills. Then, before long, Edwards was chasing Ward over the hills on a trail ride. Edwards courageously pointed his bike up the steepest and rockiest of the trails, exhibiting daring and riding skills that far surpassed any of our expectations. His only problem was on the loose, rocky downhills, where he was reluctant to use the front brake on the slippery surface. “We just don’t have hills like these back home,” he explained.
By the time we made it back to the trucks, Ward was ready for more aggressive action, so he proceeded to showboat a bit. He practiced a few jumps, starting with moderate leaps off the side of the hill, followed by going vertical over cliff faces; then, to top it all off, he threw in a few clickers over Edwards’ head just for kicks. Watching Ward control the bike while it was in the air was as impressive as watching Edwards hit a 220-yard shot to the green and drop the ball within a few feet of the flag. Both men in their own sport do things the rest of us can only dream of doing. But Edwards was more impressed with Ward than Ward was with Edwards. “Jeff might hit a hole-in-one someday,” said Edwards, “but I am never gonna jump over that hill, because I’ll never be brave enough to give it a try.”
OTHER DUFFERS ON GOLF: “I’m trying very hard to break 100, but if I play 18 holes, I try to break 200.” —Terry Vance, 13-time national drag-racing champion.
It’s clear that Ward will never trade his motorcycle for golf clubs, but Edwards says that he would give up golf without a second thought. “If someone wanted my clubs for $ 10 million, they could have them in a minute, and I’d spend my time riding my motorcycles. Golf is not my life, and there are other things that are more important.” Edwards’ fellow golfers know of his priorities, and last year, after he won $ 108,000 at the start of the season, the other players were betting that he would simply stop playing for the rest of the year so that he could remain at home and scoot around on dirtbikes. There was little chance of that, said Edwards, there were house and car payments to take care of, and besides, “I needed a new motorcycle.”
OTHER DUFFERS ON GOLF:
“I want to win the dirttrack national championship and play a round of par golf in the same season.”
—Chris Carr, 600cc national dirttrack champion.
