Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016 - 42

BACKSPIN
Sport of (Vi)kings? Not So Much.
6M A5F? 7F5=;
The Minnesota Vikings play charity golf, but to say
they're all great golfers would be charitable.
T
he greatest NFL running back of his generation and
perhaps all generations also happens to be the lousiest
golfer on his team.
" Worst Vikings golfer? " says Adam Thielen, Vikings wide
receiver. " Ooh. A.P. probably. " That's Adrian Peterson, fourtime
All-Pro, three-time rushing champion, one-time NFL
MVP and all-the-time ugly swinger of the golf club.
Thielen, who once shot 2-under in high school while helping
Detroit Lakes win a Minnesota high school state title, was
asked if perhaps he was overlooking rookie receiver Moritz
Böhringer, the German-born kid who grew up idolizing Peterson
and obviously ignoring Martin Kaymer. " I haven't seen
Moritz yet, " Thielen says. " I know Cordarrelle [Patterson] is
pretty bad, too. Lots of whiffs and shanks. But he's getting
into it. "
Thielen and Patterson, also a receiver, are best friends on
the team. They spend a lot of time together off the field as
well, Thielen shooting his 70s and Patterson jotting down his
Xs and DNFs.
So maybe Cordarrelle is the worst? " He's pretty bad, but
Adrian is bad, " Thielen says. " If you're standing near him,
look out. I get a little worried when I'm standing anywhere
near him when he's hitting. "
Teammates declare Thielen the best golfer
on the team. But he says tight end Kyle Rudolph,
kicker Blair Walsh and punter Jeff
Locke aren't bad either. And when he played
Interlachen with cornerback Terence Newman,
Newman shot an 80.
In the front office, general
manager Rick Spielman belongs
to Bearpath, the course
that Jack Nicklaus built and
Rick hacks. " I'm just inconsistent
enough to keep my handicap at a
20.0, " Spielman says. " Ninety is my
par. I have one 89 on my card. But I also
can get on a streak where I'll par four or
five holes, and then everybody wants to
be my partner. "
Rick
Spielman
40
MINNESOTAGOLFER Fall 2016
Apparently, having the final say on building an NFL roster
is a pretty time-consuming gig. In addition to various charity
scrambles, Spielman only plays about five to six rounds
each year during the few down times after free agency and before
the start of training camp. " I'll be on my phone half the
time, " Spielman says. " But I love golf. I love to get out there
and compete. It's also a great way to escape because you're so
mad at yourself that you forget everything else in the world. "
Well, that's certainly one way of looking at golf.
The best golfer in the front office, according to Spielman,
is Kelly Kleine, a college scouting assistant. As for Spielman's
top assistant, George Paton, well, that's another story entirely.
" I would say George is the worst golfer in the front office, "
Spielman says. " And he belongs to Minikahda. He belongs to
a country club and doesn't own a set of clubs. We played out
there and George had to go rent a set. "
The coaching staff has a few notably accomplished golfers,
at least according to the big boss with the 20-handicap. New
tight ends coach Pat Shurmur is among them.
On the flip side, Vikings fans will be very happy to hear
who Spielman considers the worst golfer among the coaches.
Hands down, the worst. " I would say Mike Zimmer, " says
Spielman, referring to the head coach, who apparently is
more into fixing the Vikings than fixing his
golf swing.
After a few holes, Zimmer's mind
is back on football. Spielman, who
handpicked Zimmer as his hard-nosed
and harder-working head coach
two years ago, is OK with that.
In fact, he seems downright
proud to declare the following:
" Put this in quotes: 'Mike
Zimmer is the worst golfer in
the whole building?' "
Worse than Adrian?
Adrian
Peterson
Mark Craig is the NFL/Vikings columnist
and a golf writer for the Star
Tribune.
www.mngolf.org
http://www.mngolf.org
Minnesota Golfer - Fall 2016

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