Golf

Great at striking faces ... terrible at striking golf balls.

Here's UFC legend Urijah Faber smackin' some balls around with Cody Garbrandt at Topgolf in Vegas ... proving he's not exactly Tiger Woods.

Don't worry ... after WHIFFING his first shot, Faber redeems himself.

Still better than Alex Ovechkin's first shots ... and that guy swings for a living!

Rory McIlroy is firing back at people criticizing him for playing a round of golf with President Donald Trump ... saying it was out of respect for his title, NOT his political values.

The Northern Irish golf star released a statement Friday afternoon ... claiming he's been called a "bigot" and "fascist" for golfing with POTUS last week.

"Whether you respect the person who holds that position or not, you respect the office that he holds," McIlroy says.

"This wasn't an endorsement nor a political statement of any kind. It was, quite simply, a round of golf. Golf was our common ground, nothing else."

"I've travelled all over the world and have been fortunate enough to befriend people from many different countries, beliefs and cultures."

"To be called a fascist and a bigot by some people because I spent time in someone's company is just ridiculous."

Donald Trump bonded with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the links.

The Prez and P.M. played a round of golf in Jupiter, Florida, near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, aka The Winter White House.

If ever a video was gonna make you get up and get your lazy ass to the gym, it's this one ... 81-year-old golf legend Gary Player burning up a treadmill with all the AARP swag in the universe.

Player is notorious for his fountain of youth fitness habits, and even posed nude in ESPN The Magazine's Body issue at 77 ... but we gotta say, this might be even more impressive.

Look, is he Usain Bolt? No. Is he going harder than we do? HELL YEAH!!!

Sequels usually aren't as good as the original ... but that doesn't apply here.

Here's your crazy video of the day, thanks to John Daly hitting his tee shot off someone's MOUTH ... AGAIN!!

It's insane ... Daly pulled this off a couple years ago with a female volunteer. This time, he used the CEO of Loudmouth Golf, Larry Jackson.

Check out the clip ... only John Daly would be brave enough to pull something like this off TWICE.

P.S. -- he pulls it off with a cig in his mouth. Classic Daly.

Out with the Swoosh ... in with TaylorMade.

Tiger Woods just announced his brand new endorsement deal with a golf equipment company OTHER than Nike ... announcing he'll now play with TaylorMade golf clubs.

Of course, Woods is still one of Nike's main guys ... but they shut down their golf equipment line last year -- forcing Tiger to get into bed with a new club maker.

Woods will still wear Nike clothing -- in fact, he's rocking a Swoosh shirt in his new TaylorMade advertisements.

As for his balls ... Tiger signed a deal with Bridgestone back in December.

The famous meat chef/Internet sensation known as Salt Bae just charmed his way into the mouth of Rickie Fowler ... servin' up some grub for the golf stud at one of his restaurants in Dubai.

Fowler was hanging with Dustin Johnson and some other guys while in Abu Dhabi for a golf tourney -- and stopped by one of the restaurants owned by Nusret Gokce.

Gokce became a viral superstar for the way he sensually slices up big hunks of beef ... and flamboyantly salts his dishes.

No word on how the food tasted ... but it looked damn good.

Tiger Woods is finally opening up about his golf outing with President-elect Donald Trump last month ... saying the guy can still RIP shots ... even at 70 years old.

The two got together at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach on Dec. 23 -- and now Woods is giving the lowdown on how things went on the links.

"I recently played with President-elect Donald Trump. What most impressed me was how far he hits the ball at 70 years old. He takes a pretty good lash."

So, what did they talk about?

"Our discussion topics were wide-ranging; it was fun. We both enjoyed the bantering, bickering and needling. I also shared my vision for golf and what I'm trying to do."

"We didn't have a match and played for fun. I was testing drivers and fairway woods, and changed some settings. I think he enjoyed seeing the difference in shots when you experiment."

Now for the humblebrag ...

"I've now had the privilege of playing golf with Mr. Trump, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and I appreciate the opportunity."

Two rich guys went golfing together today ... each wearing their own signature hats.

Donald Trump and Tiger Woods met up Friday at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach to play together ... Tiger still rocking the bleached goatee from his "Mac Daddy Santa" look.

Trump and Tiger have been friends for years -- and Donald actually named the golfer as one of the top athletes he admired during an interview with Harvey Levin for the show 'OBJECT-ified.'

The two are currently on the links -- we'll let you know who wins.

[h/t Golf Digest]

How does George Lopez feel about Tiger Woods reportedly hitting the links with Donald Trump on Friday?

"That's just a couple of white dudes playing golf."

Lopez broke down the situation -- saying everyone knows that "all the golfers are republicans" ... therefore Tiger voted for Trump and it doesn't really surprise him.

George also recounts the time he golfed with Trump -- and once again accused the President-elect of hardcore cheaterism.

Rickie Fowler wasn't just doing shots for his Hollywood birthday party -- he was doing shots FROM THE FREAKIN' RYDER CUP!!

In the ultimate case of "To the victors go the spoils" ... Rickie hit up Catch in West Hollywood with a bunch of his pals, but most importantly -- the 17" tall cup he helped Team USA capture this year.

Of course, when you party with one of the most prized trophies in pro sports, you pick up some celebs throughout the night. Check out the video ... pro skater Ryan Sheckler joined the fun.

And if you're wondering, that's probably not the REAL Ryder Cup. All team members get their own replica, which is still enough to attract Cindy Crawford. #NBD

PGA legend John Daly thinks Donald Trump's presidency will benefit more than just white America ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks Trump will do more for minorities than Obama did.

We spoke to John ... who's been a friend of Trump's for years ... and asked what he would say to people who think Trump's a racist.

"Not one racist bone in his body," Daly said ... adding, "He will do more for our country, and all the races that there are, than the Obama administration has ever thought about doing."

Daly's praise for Trump didn't stop with politics ... he even got into the President-elect's golf game and finally answers the question ... can the guy REALLY play?

Snoop Dogg says golf ain't nothin' but a T thang ... as in Tiger Woods ... 'cause according to the Doggfather the sport is completely whack without Tiger ... and will be saved by Woods' return.

We got Snoop out in West Hollywood and asked him about the news that Tiger is finally returning to the PGA ... set to make his season debut in December.

That's when we learned TWO things we didn't know ... Snoop and Tiger are actually friends. More shockingly? SNOOP DOGG WATCHES GOLF.

Before Caitlyn Jenner teed off at a PGA event this week, she had a question for her celebrity foursome -- should I golf from the men's tees or the women's tees???

And the vote was NOT unanimous.

Wayne Gretzky says he only has one way to relive the glory of his playing days ... through the golf career of his soon-to-be son-in-law PGA star Dustin Johnson.

Wayne sat down with Graham Bensinger and opened up about how hard it is to be away from the sports world ... and how watching Paulina's baby daddy compete is his only way to get that same thrill.

"I never thought -- once I retired -- that I would have the same sense or the same feeling, going into tournaments that you are pulling so badly and wanting somebody to win so desperately."

There's more ... Wayne also talks about the dumbest decision he ever made in life ... which he says was turning down a guaranteed $1 million bucks to CONSIDER not retiring.

You read that right ... just to think about it. Check out the clip, and yeah, Wayne ... that was dumb, bro.

"Shark Tank" star Barbara Corcoran has a message for young entrepreneurs -- GET OUT OF THE GOLF GAME!!!

Barbara was out in NYC when we asked her to name the most OVER PITCHED idea she's been asked to fund -- and it took all of two seconds for her to rail on golf products.

"They're all ridiculous, they're all terrible and they never make any money."

Tell Nike about it ...