{"id":37880,"date":"2026-01-15T14:03:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/why-michael-jordan-once-thought-golf-was-an-effeminate-sport\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T14:03:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T19:03:30","slug":"why-michael-jordan-once-thought-golf-was-an-effeminate-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/why-michael-jordan-once-thought-golf-was-an-effeminate-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Michael Jordan once thought golf was an &#8216;effeminate sport&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/why-michael-jordan-once-thought-golf-was-an-effeminate-sport\/#Michael_Jordan_admits_he_once_viewed_golf_as_an_%E2%80%98effeminate_sport\" >Michael Jordan admits he once viewed golf as an &#8216;effeminate sport&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/why-michael-jordan-once-thought-golf-was-an-effeminate-sport\/#Golf_became_Michael_Jordans_new_competitive_test\" >Golf became Michael Jordan&#8217;s new competitive test<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Michael Jordan&#8217;s competitive nature is legendary, but even the greatest basketball player of all time once underestimated the sport that would become one of his lifelong passions: golf.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before he became known for his intense rounds with fellow athletes and celebrities, Jordan viewed golf through a completely different lens.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Long before he retired from basketball and started spending more time on the course, he admitted there was a time when he didn&#8217;t understand why people were drawn to it.<\/p>\n<p>In a resurfaced interview, Jordan talked about how his early perception of golf completely changed after he picked up a club himself and realized how tough it really was.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"content-figure\">\n<div class=\"content-image\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"lightbox-btn\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"lightbox-expand\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Image Lightbox\" class=\"lightbox-overlay\" aria-modal=\"true\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"fig-caption\">\n<p>Copyright 1999 Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Michael_Jordan_admits_he_once_viewed_golf_as_an_%E2%80%98effeminate_sport\"><\/span>Michael Jordan admits he once viewed golf as an &#8216;effeminate sport&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a rare interview, Jordan said: &#8220;I think I loved the challenge. When I was younger, I always thought golf was an effeminate sport in some ways.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;And it was a very childish age. I wasn&#8217;t drawn to it at the time.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Jordan&#8217;s comments provided an unusual look into his mindset at a young age, when his competitive instincts were already formed but he was completely focused on basketball.<\/p>\n<p>MJ&#8217;s early retirement from golf reflected a misunderstanding of the precision, perseverance, and mental strength he would later come to deeply value.<\/p>\n<p>As his career progressed, Jordan&#8217;s curiosity and drive drove him to take on new challenges off the court.<\/p>\n<p>Golf was one of them, and it quickly became an important part of his post-NBA life. The sport, which he once considered too gentle, soon revealed a level of difficulty that fascinated him as much as any other one-on-one competition.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Golf_became_Michael_Jordans_new_competitive_test\"><\/span>Golf became Michael Jordan&#8217;s new competitive test<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In the same interview, Jordan reflected on how his views on golf have evolved over time. \u201cAnd now I think I know this game and I know how challenging it is every time I step on the course.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wish I had the opportunity to challenge myself as much as the game is challenging me right now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>This quote describes how golf perfectly fits into Jordan&#8217;s constant mindset. He found that, like every basketball game, every round was a new test of focus and resilience.<\/p>\n<p>The lack of physical contact doesn&#8217;t mean competition diminishes. It made it more internal and a battle against his own mistakes and spiritual errors.<\/p>\n<p>advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Since then, Jordan has become a fixture in the golf world, playing alongside pros and investing in golf through his private course, Grove XXIII.<\/p>\n<p>What started as an underestimation became a lifelong obsession, proving that even the fiercest competitors can find new grounds to test their will.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"content-list\">\n<li\/><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Jordan&#8217;s competitive nature is legendary, but even the greatest basketball player of all time once underestimated the sport that would become one of his lifelong passions: golf. Before he became known for his intense rounds with fellow athletes and celebrities, Jordan viewed golf through a completely different lens. advertisement Long before he retired from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[17],"class_list":{"0":"post-37880","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-golf"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}