Can Michael Phelps Transfer Swimming Prowess to the Golf Links?

PHOENIX, Arizona, August 15. SOME might call golf a leisurely sport compared to swimming, but Michael Phelps is taking that competitive fire that earned him 22 Olympic medals to the golf links, where he is aiming to drastically improve his game.

“I have traveled the world through swimming, but really haven't had an opportunity to experience the world through my travels,” Michael said in a statement posted on Hollywoodlife.com. “As I enter this next chapter of my life, I think I will be able to shift my competitiveness to anything I put my mind to and golf is one of the things I want to focus on. If I have a goal of dropping a certain amount of shots, or working on my short game or putting, those things are going to keep me motivated and fire me up and keep me excited. I want to play all the world's great golf courses, but I'd like to play them well. I'm excited about this project with Golf Channel and I'm looking forward to working with Hank and see what we can do together on the golf course.”

As mentioned in the statement, Phelps' first step to getting better in golf is getting tips from Hank Haney in the Golf Channel show “Haney Project.” Phelps has not said if he aims to be a part of celebrity golf tours or be accepted into the tough PGA tour circuit, but he is likely headed in that direction.

Phelps might have some familiar company in the golf course. Ed Moses, who recently completed a return to competitive swimming with top-25 finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststrokes at the Olympic Trials, told Swimming World in July that he plans to pursue a place on the PGA tour. Moses, a 2000 Olympic medalist, had been working toward that goal for a few years before making his brief return to the pool.

How good can Phelps get in golf? The sky is the limit, according to Olympic teammate Cullen Jones.

“He wants to go pro is what I think,” Jones said. “He's a talent in anything he does, he's an athlete. It's going to be interesting!”

Full text of Hollywoodlife.com article

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