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Oct 20, 2026, 5:08 PM GMT+1
Dan's love for sports journalism was founded through his time in sixth form. Many of his free periods consisted of sitting in the library, writing article after article, with nowhere to publish them.
Having left sixth form with As in English Language and Business, as well as a Distinction* in Digital Media, university seemed a certainty. However, he instead pursued progression at his then-full-time job and joined the GiveMeSport Academy in October 2024.
Through his time in the academy, Dan covered a wide range of sports, including boxing, MMA and golf, before graduating ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
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Whilst modern golf is watched and played by fans across the world, historically, the sport was reserved as a pastime for the wealthy upper-class. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that plenty of famous faces love a round of golf.
However, only a few can genuinely hold their own on the course. The best celebrity golfers play to handicaps that would put them among the strongest players at most clubs, and a handful are better than scratch.
We've ranked the best celebrity golfers by handicap, taking in sporting legends, musicians and actors.
NOTE: Handicaps come from official tournament listings, including the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the American Century Championship, as well as published handicap records.
Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played off of 13 at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. She is also a member of Augusta National, home of the Masters, and in 2012, became one of the first two women admitted to the club. Alongside her at 13 is Steve Young, the Hall of Fame quarterback who led the San Francisco 49ers to victory in Super Bowl XXIX.
CNBC's Joe Kernen is a familiar face for anyone who watches financial television, as co-anchor of Squawk Box. Away from the studio, he's a keen golfer and played off of 12 at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Rob Louw, the former Springbok flanker who was part of the South African side that beat the British and Irish Lions in 1980, played off of 12 at the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, in what was his 15th appearance at the event.
Few celebrities are as closely linked with golf as Bill Murray. The actor played assistant greenkeeper Carl Spackler in the 1980 cult classic Caddyshack and has since become a fixture at pro-ams on both sides of the Atlantic. Fellow actor Matthew Goode, who featured in The Crown and Downton Abbey, also plays off an 11 handicap, with both stars featuring at the 2025 Dunhill Links competition.
The most crowded spot on this list has five players with a 10 handicap. Travis Kelce's game has come on considerably, with GOLF.com listing the NFL star at 14 in 2021, before he played off of 10 at the 2026 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where former NBA center Pau Gasol and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also played off of 10. Wayne Gretzky, widely regarded as one of the greatest ice hockey player of all time, played off 10 on his Alfred Dunhill Links debut in 2025. Dragons' Den star Peter Jones also boasted a 10 handicap at the same event.
It's an all-music lineup in 11th. Ronan Keating is one of the most improved golfers on this list, with the former Boyzone singer playing off of 12 at Dunhill Links in 2025, according to the DP World tour, but Golf Monthly listed him at eight ahead of the 2026 event. He shares the spot with Linkin Park bassist Dave Farrell and Train frontman Pat Monahan.
Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith carried a 7-handicap into the 2026 Pebble Beach Pro-Am following a career which featured one of the most remarkable comebacks in American sport. Despite suffering a horrific leg injury in 2018 that needed multiple surgeries, Smith returned to play for Washington in 2020 and was named NFL Comeback of the Year. He shares 10th with Keane frontman Tom Chaplin, who played off seven in his eighth appearance at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2025.
Schalk Burger Jr won the 2007 Rugby World Cup with South Africa and played off six at the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, his third appearance at the tournament. Golf runs in the family: his father, former Springbok Schalk Burger Sr, has played at the event 20 times. Lady A singer Charles Kelley also played off six at the 2026 AT&T Pro-Am.
Michael Vaughan led England to one of their most famous Ashes victories in 2005, and the former captain is a seriously handy golfer too, having played off five at the 2025 Dunhill Links Championship. He shares eighth with Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, whose Alinghi team twice won sailing's America's Cup, and who played off five at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2026.
Sir Andy Murray has thrown himself into golf since retiring from tennis in 2024, and he played off three on his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship debut in 2025. Alongside him is Kelly Slater, the greatest surfer in history with a record 11 world titles, who also played off three at the same event. Slater has real pedigree at the Dunhill Links, having won the team competition twice, in 2009 and 2015.
Country music star Jake Owen was the only amateur playing off one at the 2026 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the lowest-handicap celebrity in the field. Owen is a regular contender at the American Century Championship and finished third at Lake Tahoe in 2025. Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen also plays off of one, and had the lowest handicap of any celebrity or amateur at the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
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