Golf

Did you know Yankees centerfielder Aaron Hicks is really good at hitting fastballs AND stationary golf balls?!

It's true ... check out footage of the 31-year-old MLB player at Top Golf this month -- DUDE HAS AN INSANE SWING!!!

Hicks' brother posted the clip to social media Monday ... showing Hicks sending a golf ball into orbit with one monstrous stroke.

You can see in the video ... the ball cleared the range -- well over the netting some 300 yards away -- and according to the Hicks bros, it CARRIED 330 yards before finally touching down!!

"Light work," the Hicks bros captioned the vid.

If this looks familiar ... it's 'cause it kind of is when it comes to MLB stars on the driving range -- remember when Nelson Cruz launched one into outer space at a Top Golf last year??

Another big loss for Donald Trump ... the PGA says it's now pulling a major golf event from one of the president's courses, explaining playing there "would be detrimental" to the brand.

The golf org. made the announcement Sunday -- formally shredding its plans to play the 2022 PGA Championship at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey in the wake of the riots at the U.S. Capitol.

"It has become clear that conducting the PGA. Championship at Trump Bedminster would be detrimental to the P.G.A. of America brand," PGA president Jim Richerson said in a video statement, "and would put at risk the PGA’s ability to deliver our many programs, and sustain the longevity of our mission."

Seth Waugh, the CEO of the PGA, further explained the decision to pull the event Sunday night ... telling the Associated Press it's all related to Trump's role in the unrest at the Capitol.

"Our feeling was given the tragic events of Wednesday that we could no longer hold it at Bedminster," Waugh said. "The damage could have been irreparable. The only real course of action was to leave.”

For Trump's part, POTUS' org. said in a statement it's "incredibly disappointed" with the PGA's decision ... adding, "This is a breach of a binding contract, and they have no right to terminate the agreement.”

FYI, the PGA Championship is one of golf's four biggest events every year. It was held at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco this year and won by Collin Morikawa.

It's unclear what course will now host the '22 event.

Just one day after his supporters rioted inside the U.S. Capitol, President Donald Trump went back to business. And by business, we mean golf.

POTUS awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 3 professional golfers on Thursday -- retired stars Annika Sorenstam and Gary Player, as well as Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who died in 1956.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the nation’s highest civilian honor ... which the White House describes as an award given to those "who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

Player and Sorenstam were slated to receive the award back in March ... but the event was pushed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony is normally open to the press ... but not this time around.

Of course, that most likely has to do with the events that transpired in D.C. on Wednesday ... with hundreds of pro-Trump supporters invading the Capitol Building.

If you're questioning the decision to continue with the event -- given the country is still dealing with the aftermath of Wednesday's incident -- you're not alone.

Player's son, Marc, expressed his concerns with his dad accepting the award, tweeting, "I wish my father would simply & politely decline this 'award' at this time."

"Tone deaf. In denial. Wrong!!"

They don't call him "The Great One" for nothin' -- Wayne Gretzky managed to end the year on a high note ... by smacking a hole-in-one on New Year's Eve.

The hockey legend had more reason to celebrate the end of 2020 than everyone else, because he hit his first ace on the golf course ... on the signature par-3 6th hole at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Gretzky hit a 9-iron on the 140-yard hole, and though COVID restrictions kept onlookers away from his big moment ... word traveled pretty fast.

We're told the world's #1 golfer, Dustin Johnson, called him from Hawaii afterward to congratulate him. Johnson, of course, is engaged to Wayne's daughter, Paulina.

So, there ya go ... the man who holds the NHL records for goals, assists, points and hat tricks -- along with countless other records -- is also as good at golf as his future son-in-law.

At least for one hole.

The Tiger Woods like-father-like-son saga continues -- not only does his boy have a natural swing like pops, but he can tap it into the hole like him too ... and their celebrations are almost identical.

Charlie Woods was lining up for a putt Sunday on the last day of the PNC Championship down in Orlando on the 10th hole ... and after hitting it ever so softly, the ball glided across the green and sank right into where it needed to go to get them a stroke under par.

Watch what 11-year-old Charlie does after realizing he made his shot ... he gives a subtle fist pump to show his jubilation -- the same kind of fist pump we've seen Tiger shoot out after an awesome shot, which often meant victory. BTW, both TW and CW were rocking his signature red polo and black slacks together ... just one more mini-me thing on display.

On Saturday, we saw Charlie's fairway swing ... and it too had echoes of Tiger's own. Safe to say, dad's been training his son well in the art of golf -- and it's paying off and then some.

Team Tiger is pretty far behind on the leaderboard as the relative duo tourney starts to wrap up. They're in 8th place as of right now ... behind groups like Team Daly, Team Kuchar, Team Singh and Team Thomas (who's in first place). Granted, a lot of those teams don't have young children as their partner-in-club ... so Tiger and Charlie are doing well all things considered.

Tiger Woods' son, Charlie, truly is a chip off the old block ... 'cause the kid golfs just like his dad -- and by that, we mean he's leaving crowds absolutely stunned by his skill.

Tiger and Charlie are participating in the PNC Championship this weekend down at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando -- where pro golfers are teaming up with their kids for a showdown to see which father-son duo (or another familial duo) is actually the best.

While TW and CW are in 4th place as of right now ... you gotta like their chances after this amazing shot Charlie took on the 3rd hole Saturday, which landed his ball in an incredible position on the green and just a stroke away from sinking an eagle -- which he did.

Like father, like son is the appropriate analogy -- but Charlie might be even more impressive than dad ... 'cause the boy's only 11. Tiger was a child golf prodigy too, but didn't play in his first professional tourney until he was 16. So, Charlie's chugging along nicely.

As we said, Tiger and Charlie are by far the odds on favorites to win it all -- but they're actually trailing behind Matt Kuchar and his son, Cameron, at the moment ... plus a few more. They've got time to catch up and surpass 'em, but it's moments like this that people come to see ... and, boy, are the Woods giving people a show (per usual).

Here's something that's going to make you feel REALLY bad about your golf game ...

Tiger Woods' 11-year-old son showed off his swing while prepping for a big tournament with Dad in Florida this weekend ... and the kid's stroke is smooth as hell!!!

Check out the footage of little Charlie Woods grippin' it and rippin' on the range -- he's calm, he's easy ... and he even has a tiger driver headcover in his bag like Pops!!!

Of course, we'll see how well his range swing transfers to the actual course beginning on Saturday ... 'cause Charlie and Tiger are all set to compete in the PNC Championship.

The tourney -- which will pit the Woodses against guys like Justin Thomas and his father, and John Daly and his son -- will go down at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando.

BRO, IT'S NOT WORTH IT!!!

A golfer in Florida risked his own life to retrieve a golf ball off a live alligator's tail -- and the video is wild!!

The man shooting the footage is Kyle Downes -- who was golfing with his brother on Dec. 14 at the Coral Oaks Golf Course in Cape Coral, FL when they stumbled upon the MASSIVE gator.

Kyle's brother noticed a golf ball resting on the tail and decided he was going to try and retrieve it ... so naturally, Kyle whipped out his cell phone and hit record.

You can hear Kyle warn his brother, "It's gonna whip you with that tail dude!!!"

But, his bro soldiered on ... and successfully grabbed the ball as the gator charged into the water.

And, get this, the gator is sorta famous at the golf course -- he's a 10-footer named Charlie ... apparently a local celebrity, according to NBC2.

Fortunately, no one was harmed -- neither the human nor the animal -- but don't forget how dangerous these gators can be.

Just ask Chubbs!!!!

Would you really have expected anything else from His Airness?!

Michael Jordan's golf course in Florida features flying drones that deliver food and booze straight to the fairways ... and video captured by tennis star Caroline Wozniacki at the place this week shows it's all AWESOME!!!

The course -- which just opened in 2019 after YEARS of planning, developing and constructing -- is insane ... it's called The Grove XXIII and it's built on a huge plot of land in Hobe Sound, FL.

The holes are super sleek, and the club has a dope 15,000-square-foot clubhouse ... but the coolest part has got to be the drones!!

MJ replaced beer carts with flying ships that bring alcohol and snacks to golfers ... and in videos that show the whole process, you can see just how cool it is.

Wozniacki -- who was getting in some run on the course this week -- filmed the whole thing ... as did others, and you can see it's really freakin' cool.

The problem for you normies looking to experience it? MJ's club is SUPER EXCLUSIVE -- it reportedly has less than 100 members!!

Here it is -- some of the first clear, up-close video of Donald Trump's golf swing ... and it's, uh, something!!!

Golf pro P.J. Cowan -- who's a swing coach for players of all ages -- shared the footage of a round with #45 this week ... showing off a perfect view of one of POTUS' drives.

You can see in the clip ... Donald PIPES the golf ball -- which is kind of surprising, given the uneasiness of his swing.

The 74-year-old has a little jerky motion in his backswing ... but to his credit, the guy is still able to square up the clubface and drive it a mile.

"My man Mr DT," Cowan wrote along with the video. "Textbook."

Trump and most of those who have golfed with him recently have talked glowingly about his game ... with U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham saying over the summer that Donald shot a 74 in one of the rounds they played.

FYI -- a 74 is REALLY good ... some pros don't even hit that mark on a regular basis!

"He beat me like a drum!" Graham said at the time.

Then again, others who have played with Trump in the past have sworn he's a cheat on the course ... with Barack Obama recently saying of DT, "There’s sometimes problems with the scoring. And whether he’s keeping track of his strokes."

President Obama just hit President Trump where it hurts -- right in the golf bag.

#44 basically called #45 a cheater during an interview on "The Later Show with Stephen Colbert" -- explaining how Trump has a reputation for fudging his scorecards.

"Listen from what I understand he’s actually a pretty good golfer," Obama said at first before dropping the cheating allegation.

"I understand that shockingly enough there’s sometimes problems with the scoring. And whether he’s keeping track of his strokes."

BOOM!!!

Hey, for Obama -- that's about a big of a shot as he's gonna take ... but look at the way he smirks as he makes the comment, he KNOWS it's gonna bother Trump!

Fact is, Obama's not the only person to accuse POTUS of cheating on the links ... remember, Oscar De La Hoya has said he's watched Trump cheat first hand.

"I witnessed it. He outright cheated," Oscar said in 2016 ... "not once, not twice but 3 times."

Sportswriter Rick Reilly has also publicly accused Trump of being a golf cheater -- saying the guy sometimes uses Secret Service agents to gain an unfair playing advantage.

"This the ugliest ball in the world right here."

That's Charles Barkley talking about the golf balls his partner, Phil Mickelson, gave him to use on the course Friday ... with Shaquille O'Neal's face plastered on them!!!

Chuck and Phil are going head-to-head with Steph Curry and Peyton Manning for "The Match 3" charity golf outing -- raising money for historically Black colleges and universities -- and Phil tried to give his teammate extra incentive to hit a good shot.

Mickelson told Barkley he's tired of his "NBA on TNT" colleagues disrespecting him -- most notably Shaq -- so it was time for a little payback.

Unfortunately, Charles didn't follow up with a hole-in-one, but didn't hit a bad shot either ... which has been the story of the day so far.

Chuck -- who's known to have a notoriously bad hitch in his swing -- has been swinging pretty smoothly ... and he and Phil are currently up 3 through 9 holes of the 18-hole showdown.

Donald Trump got in a few holes before his Thanksgiving dinner, but it went about as well as the election for him ... and he was VERY vocal about it.

Trump was playing Thursday at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, and he got teed off after he teed off and the ball went in the drink.

You hear Trump grouse, "Oh s**t," and it's clear he had a history with this particular hole, and it ain't a good one. As he watches the ball disappear in the water, he mutters, "I hate this f**king hole!!!"

You'd think he'd change the configuration of the pesky hole ... after all, he owns the course. He doesn't even need to be President to do that.

Maybe Trump was off his game because he's still so pissed off about the election. He was tweeting up a storm, again claiming he won the election, saying, "Just saw the vote tabulations.  There is NO WAY Biden got 80,000,000 votes!!! This was a 100% RIGGED ELECTION."

Birdies, pars, bogeys ... and fat jokes?!

If Charles Barkley and Peyton Manning's pre-golf tournament trash talk is any indication of how Friday's The Match III is going to go down ... we're in store for a whole lot of the above!!

Chuck, Manning, Phil Mickelson and Steph Curry all logged on for a Zoom call to preview their big tourney -- which will air on TNT this week -- and there was plenty of joking banter between the four.

But, the best heckling was between Manning and Charles ... with Peyton hitting Chuck with a hilarious tubby joke!

Here's how it went down ... Charles claimed he's been working on his game tirelessly to prepare for the event -- even saying he's hit the Stone Canyon course in Oro Valley, AZ a few times.

Then, he took a shot at Peyton's alma mater ... saying, "You know, Peyton, I just got to make sure he got my phone number. He texts me all the time, but, since Tennessee hasn't won a game, it's been a few weeks since he texted me!"

That's when Manning went into full-on roast mode -- hitting Chuck with this hilarious zinger ...

"That's kind of news to me that Charles has been to Stone Canyon three times. He hasn't played golf. He's just gone there to eat three times. They have great lunch and dinner service. So, this will be his first time playing the course in the actual match on Friday."

SHEEEEESSSHHHH!!!

There was a whole lot more from the guys' interview ... Barkley made fun of Manning and Curry's Hall of Fame chances; and everyone generally cracked on Charles for having a horrific golf swing.

Good times!!!

By the way, the event is all going down for a good cause ... the foursome is playing to raise money for HBCUs across the country.

John Daly is recovering after undergoing a surgical procedure related to his cancer this week -- a procedure he bumped up in hopes of playing a golf tourney with his son in December.

54-year-old Daly was diagnosed with bladder cancer back in September -- but he's been fighting like hell and recently told us straight-up, "I'll beat this sh*t, f*ck cancer."

Gotta love John Daly!

In fact, Daly's so confident, he recently entered the PNC Championship along with his 16-year-old son Little John Daly so they could play together during the Dec. 17 to 20 event.

The issue ... doctors recently told Daly they wanted him to undergo a procedure connected to his treatment -- and the timing could have clashed with the golf tourney.

So, John took the bull by the horns and bumped up the procedure -- which took place on Wednesday -- so he could have enough time to recover and get himself ready to play in December.

We're told John is doing well so far and is in good spirits -- and remains confident he'll give Tiger Woods and his son a run for their money!

Forget The Masters ... here's the golf event you NEED to watch -- Tiger Woods and his 11-year-old son have committed to play in a tourney against John Daly and his son!!!

The epic matchup -- featuring the 2 legends and their boys plus several other family pairings -- will all go down at the 2020 PNC Championship in Orlando from Dec. 17-20.

Woods will enter the event with his son, Charlie, whose swing is so good ... he's already been described as a golf prodigy.

Daly, meanwhile, will compete in the event for the 2nd straight year with his 16-year-old son, Little John Daly, who has also been heralded as one of the next possible great ones in the sport.

Of course, the annual tournament is just for fun ... the event won't count on anybody's career records or anything crazy like that -- but there actually is some money on the line!

The PNC Championship -- which, in total, will feature 20 major winners paired alongside a family member of their choosing -- has a total purse of $1,085,000 ... and winners even get a dope trophy!

"I can’t tell you how excited I am to be playing with Charlie in our first official tournament together," Woods said in a statement about the event.

"It’s been great watching him progress as a junior golfer and it will be incredible playing as a team together in the PNC Championship."

The tourney will be a 2-day, 36-hole event ... and last year's winners, Bernhard Langer and his son, will be in the field again this year.