Most golfers will tell you, “Keep pace with the group ahead of you.” Others will say, “If you can’t play well, play fast.” Both are common sayings when it comes to the speed in which a group tries to get through a round of 9 or 18 holes.
Perhaps that same rule doesn’t apply to celebrities.
Golf influencer Paige Spiranac has revealed which celebrity tops her list for the slowest pace of play she’s ever experienced on the course — and it’s movie star and Guardians of the Galaxy superhero Chris Pratt.
Spiranac Details Her Golf Experience With Pratt
Speaking on the Vanity Index Podcast as well as Skratch, Spiranac was asked if she’d reveal the name of the celebrity she’d hinted at was extremely slow to play with in another interview. She wasted no time responding, “Chris Pratt?”, to which the hosts got a bit of a giggle.
Sprianac went on to say that it wasn’t a bad round, just a very slow one.
She recalled the event as a Ryder Cup-style match held during the Genesis Invitational, where she and singer Nick Jonas were paired up against Pratt and Fred Couples. While she was quick to call Pratt a “super nice guy,” she didn’t hold back on his pace of play, explaining that it took her group more than three and a half hours to get through just nine holes.
She joked that they were over two hours behind the group in front of them.
According to Spiranac, the slowdown wasn’t due to Pratt struggling with his shots — it was his storytelling. The actor not only showed up with a large group, but he spent much of the round telling entertaining stories as he was standing on the tee box ready for his drive. Rather than focusing on the game, he would go on for over five minutes, which caused their foursome to fall four holes behind the pace of the rest of the field.
Keep Up And Tell Stories Later
Slow play is a fairly hot-button issue in golf, and it’s one of those pet peeves that can drive other golfers wild. Whether it’s a professional, a scratch golfer, a YouTube influencer, or a beginner, the cardinal rule is not to slow down the game, especially if you don’t let the group behind you through.
Spiranac’s story is slightly different, in that there’s a world in which Pratt was asked to take part in the event, potentially because of his entertaining nature. Star-studded charity and pro-am events aren’t immune to holdups, but there is a longer leash for that kind of slower play.
She didn’t seem overly bothered and wasn’t trying to rat on Pratt, but she was happy enough to throw him under the bus as the slowest player she’s ever played with.
Spiranac Has Played With Several Celebrities
Spiranac, a former professional golfer turned social media personality and YouTube creator, has become wildly popular for her appearance and personality. She is often known for candid, behind-the-scenes takes on both professional golf and the celebrity pro-am circuit.
She’s a bit of a movie star in her own right, recently appearing in the sequel to Happy Gilmore.
Her comments about Pratt quickly circulated, but everyone seems to be taking the story as an endearing, constructive critique.
Paige Spiranac Roasts Celebrity Golf Partner Over Slow Play