Q&A: Jordan on golf and The Presidents Cup

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Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Lucas Glover (left) plays a practice round with Michael Jordan before The Presidents Cup.

Editor's note: NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is serving as one of Fred Couples' assistants at The Presidents Cup this week. He played a practice round at Harding Park with Couples, Hunter Mahan, Lucas Glover and Sean O'Hair on Monday afternoon, then took time for this Q&A with PGATOUR.COM's Helen Ross.

PGATOUR.COM: I watched you a little bit out there today. It must have been a treat playing with Freddy and Hunter and Lucas and Sean.

MJ: My golf game is not even on the same level as these guys but I have a good time.

PGATOUR.COM: That's the most important thing. How did you get interested in the game?

MJ: Davis. I actually left school early to go pro in '84 -- and one of my friends, John Simpkins, was on the golf team. And he took me out to play with another basketball player, Al Wood, and Davis Love. I made a par the first time I ever played, and I've been hooked ever since. I don't know; I may have been better then than now because I didn't know what to expect. But I love the game of golf. It takes a lot of the competitive juices that I left on the basketball court to now.

PGATOUR.COM: Do you remember the first round you ever played?

MJ: What I shot? Oh no. It was well over 100 -- without a doubt. I was just trying to understand all the rules and when do I hit a 9-iron and when do I hit that 6-iron, blah, blah, blah. But I was hooked either way.

PGATOUR.COM: What about the game challenges you?

MJ: Consistency. I mean, being able to shoot when you think you've got a good rhythm about the game, then you go to bed at night and you wake up thinking that you're going to use the same philosophy as the day before and the next thing you know, it doesn't work. And you have to somehow make adjustments and things like that. So the game of golf, it gives me a lot of different looks. I guess it's more difficult for me than some of the guys over here because they've been taught from when they're young kids. Whereas me, I'm a basketball player. I've been taught a lot of the fundamentals. It's easy for me to wake up each and every day and play a certain style and have certain expectations. Golf, I'm kind of by the seat of my pants. Whatever works that day, I ride with and the next day it can be totally different. It drives me totally, totally insane that I can not capture those fundamentals each and every day to be as consistent. Certain days I think I have it, and I can shoot a good round for the first three days and then the fourth day I just totally lose it. That's how difficult the game is.

PGATOUR.COM: How much do you play?

MJ: Out of seven days, I probably play six. I play a lot.

PGATOUR.COM: Any particular golf club?

MJ: I'm all over the 14-club rule. I've got probably about 26 memberships all over the United States. No one in particular. I'm a member at Medinah. If I ever want to test my game I go to Medinah because every shot matters. My best round ever at Medinah is 76, and I play from the tips. Ego would never let me move up first. But along with the 76, I'm pretty sure I've got a bunch of 96s. Big numbers. I play the Merit Club a lot in Chicago. They had the ladies U.S. Open there last year or the year before. But wherever my plane goes, that's where I play golf. I chase the sunshine. I am a big emphatic fan of golfers, which is one of the reasons I'm here. You think about,well, what's a basketball player doing in a golf room, but when Freddy threw my name out there it kind of caught me off guard.

PGATOUR.COM: Did he throw it out before he called and asked you?

MJ: Yes. I read about it in the newspaper that I was an assistant. It's one of those things I would never have campaigned for it, but it's truly a blessing for me to be here. To understand and see these players and to understand the athleticism that these guys have because you never consider golfers as athletes but I do because I understand the game. I am honored just to be here without a doubt. A lot of times I even tell Freddy when I talk to Freddy, look, whatever you want me to do I'll do. I just want to be out of the way. I don't want to steal someone's light. I don't want to feel like I'm hungry for publicity. I want to be on the back burner of what's happening here. My biggest project right now, my biggest focus is Sean O'Hair. I grew a great bond with him, I think, just talking with him. I feel like I can contribute from the mental aspect to help him battle some of the weaknesses that he may have. And that's not saying he's a bad player. I think he's a great player. One thing about golf that I've learned, if you don't have positive confidence and reinforcements within your mind mentally, you're battling with yourself. If I can make him relax and play, that's good. I joke with him a lot.

PGATOUR.COM: I noticed you both did some needling out there.

MJ: He's such a great player and he presents some doubt to himself. As an athlete you should always have 100 percent confidence in what you're capable of doing. Once doubt creeps into your thoughts then you are battling with yourself instead of the course. The course is consistent. It's 72 holes no matter how you look at it. So if you can simplify with yourself and how you look at it then you can be successful. I've been given that mission with him. I'm just meeting some of the other players. I think I understand why Freddy's got me here now -- for the positive reinforcement. I'm a totally confident guy when it comes to understanding what I can do in life in a sense. I believe I can play the game of golf. I play it my way. I'm not a hit it 280, 290, 300 but I have total confidence in what I can do on the golf course. And that's the battle with the mind and that's where I'm here to help these guys if I can.

PGATOUR.COM: You were playing with Hunter and Lucas and Sean, and they're the younger guys, the somewhat less experienced guys on the team. So I wondered if that was by design.

MJ: I want to get to know these guys. These guys when they see Tiger or they see Freddy or Phil or some of these other guys, they don't think they're on the same level. But they are. They are just as good, if not better in some ways, for their age. If I can do anything to help them it's to instill that confidence and correlate it to things I've been able to use in my career to help them. They all asked a lot of questions, and I gave them honest and true answers from my perspective. Obviously, it's going to be different for them than it is for me. But the thing is, can you pick out bits and pieces and correlate them to you and benefit from it? That's what my value is. It's not my golf swing. It's not my game. It's not my putter I think it's more the mental aspect than anything.

PGATOUR.COM: Had you ever met them before this week?

MJ: No. I've seen Hunter. I've been to a lot of Ryder Cups. I'm a big Ryder Cup fan but I like the Presidents Cup, too. I never had the chance to go (to a Presidents Cup before this week). I met Hunter in passing. They're great, great kids. I don't think it's too different from the Ryder Cup. I understand the philosophy of playing in events like this. It's all how you perceive it. It's a team concept, and these guys have never really been involved in a team concept so it's a whole different kind of thinking. But they have the right tools in terms of the team. How you get them to blend -- I think that's more for Freddy. And from my perspective being that I played team sports throughout my career is to give him insight, how to address certain issues. I'm just happy to be here whatever way you look at it.

PGATOUR.COM: Have you ever been as nervous over a putt as you were over a free throw to win a game?

MJ: Oh yeah, without a doubt. I was nervous today. The first tee, I was very, very nervous. Every athlete wants to belong wherever he's participating. Even in golf, I want to feel that I belong. No, I'm not at the same level. I'm in amazement of their golf swings and how to hit and how to focus over the ball. I don't want to take away from what they do. But as a competitor I want to perform at my highest. I want to do well. So I put more pressure on myself that they probably even know. And I try to relieve that pressure by a lot of different things -- joking, kidding around, blah, blah, blah. I was more nervous today over any of my shots than I've ever been in my life.

PGATOUR.COM: Really? Even when you played with Tiger in the pro-am at the Wachovia Championship?

MJ: Tiger's easy. I've known Tiger in a social environment. He knows not to expect more. These guys they don't know me. They don't know my golf game. They never really actually played with me. So I found myself more nervous playing with them than they are playing with me. But I don't want them to know that so I joke around, kid around and horse around to relieve that tension for me. And if I can bring them to relax and play their game and see that I'm just a normal person if they're nervous being around me (that's good). Sean was more nervous, I think, than the other two guys but that dissipated because I turned it into a challenge with me and him like if he was playing with his friends or playing with his brother or something. Just a nice friendly conversation, friendly little betting, wager, whatever, but I think that's going to benefit him when he plays against some of the other guys because I'm pretty sure he sees them all the time. He rarely sees me. So if he can play with me he can play with anybody. That's kind of what I'm trying to work with him -- believe that you can do what you can do.

PGATOUR.COM: Did you come into this week thinking that you would help him in particular or did it evolve?

MJ: No. It evolved. Freddy came to me and basically said, that's your guy. I said, OK, that's my guy. I like him. I think he's a great kid. He needs a little hugging. He needs a little patting but then again, he still needs to believe in himself. If he believed in himself, he could be so much better. Tiger to me; Tiger's like me. He has so much confidence in what he can do. That's hard to teach. That's bred in him since he was a young kid. These kids; Sean, I think, is one of those guys who's still trying to believe that he belongs when in essence he does. If he ever believes that, he can be so much better. That's where I feel like I can help him. Hey, look, dude, you're better than you think you are. I asked him, what are the strong points of your game, and he said his irons. I said, what's your weakest part of your game and he said the putter. I said, you know, you've not as bad as you think. You're a better putter than you think. It takes someone, be it me, be it Freddy or be it some other player, to keep saying, hey, man, you're better than you think. Look at the positive. Don't think that the glass is half empty. It's actually half full. He's a perfect candidate for that whole theory. He thinks the glass if half empty when it should be half full.

PGATOUR.COM: You say that you kind of teased him and joked with him. I remember that you were one of basketball's better trash talkers.

MJ: I was. (smiling).

Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Michael Jordan hopes to instill confidence in the young members of The Presidents Cup team.

PGATOUR.COM: Do you think there's a place for that in golf?

MJ: Not in competition because the game doesn't dictate that whereas my game dictated that. But in something like this, as far as teaching tools, yes. It gives you a certain inner confidence about yourself. If you're going to talk trash that means you believe you can do it. Once you believe you can do it, you don't have to say it anymore. You can let your game do all your talking. I'm trying to get him to trash talk so that he believes that he can do it. I don't know if you followed me the whole time (today) but I said, you know, we'll bet $100 if you can make a putt here or there. If you believe that you can bet $100 and you can make the putt, that's the same as any other putt that you make, that's every putt on the TOUR, if you can believe that you can make it. So it's a training of the mind that you believe that you can do it. That's the whole purpose. I don't think he's figured it out yet but I want him to get it. I'm going to spend all week -- if I have to bet $100 here, $100 there so that he gets it (I will).

PGATOUR.COM: Did you lose any today?

MJ: No. I won today. Believe me. I don't think his mind is that strong yet, but I'm going to get it there.

PGATOUR.COM: When did you become so philosophical?

MJ: In my later years, as you get older. Obviously, when you start trying to repeat things, you have to play tricks with your mind to say that you've never won it so you can stay focused. I think that did it for me in terms of challenging myself from within. A lot of times, I had to play tricks with my mind to think that hey, I've never won it before. And to win it again. And to win it again. Knowing that everybody's coming at me with the hunger that I had to create within myself. That's where the mastery came about my personality, understanding my competitive nature and playing tricks with my mind to get me to focus that I've got to win this game. And now I'm trying to pass it on to these guys. It's very difficult in a team game to an individual game. But there are a lot of similarities, and I think Hunter's starting to figure that out. I think Sean is starting to figure that out. To see Hunter play today I would never have thought he only won one tournament. He hits it way too good. He's totally confident. He's a trash talker. I like him. He's a really good trash talker. He's a good ball-striker. He's got a good, good game. He should be a lot better than what he is. I think at certain times he doubts himself more than he should. Obviously, I don't want to feel like I'm critiquing them. But if I had to look at these guys from a competitive standpoint, they battle with a lot of demons within themselves, more than their golf swings because their golf swings are obviously good enough to make them successful. The game is very, very mental and I think that's where Tiger is so much stronger than anybody else. It's not his game. Obviously he's good and he can swing but I think what makes Tiger better than most is his mental game.

PGATOUR.COM: What attribute do you think guys need to have to be successful in match play?

MJ: I think it's confidence. Every time I go into a big, heated game -- and this is one of the things Freddy wants me to pass on to these guys -- what is my thought process? I try to think of all positive things. The shot in Utah. The shot in North Carolina. Those things that get me to this place of comfort, relax, be able to fulfill what my objectives may be. I want to get to those guys and say, ok, Hunter, you were 4 under after five holes today. What were you thinking of? Whatever you were thinking of get back to that same thought process. Forget that you're playing against the Internationals, blah, blah, blah. It's a certain place, a certain zone you can get to and nothing matters. From my perspective, if I can get them to understand the difference between the two and how to get there and how not to get there, and how to recognize when you're there and when you're not, I think that's going to help them not just here this week, it's going to help them when they leave here. But it's obvious they can get to that point. The results say that. You birdie four of the first five holes, what are you thinking? Is it I'm enjoying my golf with Michael Jordan, I out here with friends, there's no pressure? Well, get back to that same point, even when you're in competition. It's easy to get back there. You just have to teach yourself.

PGATOUR.COM: When did you meet Freddy? Can you talk about your relationship?

MJ: I represented Gatorade and Gatorade went to Freddy and had a contest where you could auction or you could buy a round with Freddy Couples and Michael Jordan, and that had to be in 1988. We flew down to Wellington, Fla., and played a private golf course on a Monday afternoon. We played 18 holes, and I said to Freddy, they've got a game in Miami, a football game, or Tampa, but I think it was Miami. Let's hop on a plane and go down. We hopped on a plane and went down there. It was the first time I ever met him, and we've been friends ever since.

PGATOUR.COM: What did you think when you heard on the news that Freddy had made you an assistant captain?

MJ: I texted him. I said, Freddy, what am I expected to do? Is this a joke? And he said, no, I want you to be a part of my staff and I just want you to help us understand what team sport is about. I really didn't believe it. I said, well, I'm willing to do whatever, but you know, call me back and let me know if you're serious because at the same time he also said Robin Williams. So that made me think it was more or less a joke or maybe they just threw a question out, who would you like to see as an assistant coach? And he called me back and said, yeah, I want you to be a part of the team. I said, well, you know how much I love the game. I've been to every Ryder Cup since Valderrama. And I don't know how I could help, but I'm here to help. The last thing I want to do is to take away from their spotlight. He said, nah, don't worry about that. I said, OK, whatever I need to do, you just let me know, and he's been leading me along this dark alley over the last six or seven months. I didn't really believe it until they sent someone to my home to get me fitted for the outfits. That's when I really knew, you're serious. OK, when do I have to get there? He said, I'm getting there on the 2nd, and I said, I'll be there when you get there. I came in on Friday night. I had a board meeting in Portland. The biggest thing I thought I would have a conflict was with the OIympic thing, but that really wasn't a conflict.

PGATOUR.COM: You've made a ton of game-winning shots in your career. Who would you pick if you needed somebody to make a putt for you?

MJ: That's a tough one because I was there when Justin Leonard made it in Boston. The obvious would be Tiger, and right behind him would be Phil. Once again, when you talk about golf, whoever has the confidence and believes in himself can step to the forefront and make a putt. It's easy. I've got to go with the obvious with Tiger. Then I would go with Phil because when you look at who's won more majors after that and majors are big events so I would have to go with Phil. But when I look at our team, I'm not afraid if any of our guys got to make the putt for the big championship. Obviously, I'm biased about it but by the time we finish working on them, everybody's going to think they're Tiger Woods.

PGATOUR.COM: I've heard Tiger talk about you a lot, and you've mentioned him several times today. How has your relationship evolved?

MJ: We're like big brother-little brother. I'm the big brother, he's the little brother. I don't crowd him. I keep my distance because at certain times a little brother's got to learn how to survive. But when I see him struggling, when he's battling with himself a lot of times, I text him and say, is everything OK, blah, blah, blah? And he'll text me back or he'll say can I call you in five or 10 minutes and we get on the phone and talk through whatever issues he might have. And the advice, it's not much advice when a guy's walking through the same things that you've basically have gone through but with a little bit more focus. The microscope is a little bit bigger for you because the expectations have been set, by not just me but have been set by you in terms of what the public and press expect. So you're kind of a product of your own problem in a sense. The second thing is stay true to yourself -- whatever, look in yourself and stay true to that. In terms of how often we talk, we may talk every third or fourth day just to check in, how's the kids, how's the family. But I can sense and see stress in him and see that he's battling himself more than he should and that's when I call or text him to see if everything's ok. I think a lot of that's happened more as of late because his father's passed. His father was that person he could call and do that. When he calls me now, I say, what would your father think and bring you back to home. I don't want to take the credit. You know what to do. You just need someone to tell you or reinforce what you're thinking. That's what I'm here. It's a check and balance. That's evolved over the last 12-13 years that I've known him. I consciously to some degree stay out of his way but I'm close enough it he needs me. But at the same time, these are trials and tribulations that you've been built for since you were a kid. You just need someone to tell you. We joke around all the time.

PGATOUR.COM: What's the over and under on cigars per round this week?

MJ: Well, that depends because I heard this is a public place so they limit what you can smoke. I'm not even supposed to be smoking but this was a practice round and no one said anything. So I've been very cognizant of that to some degree. But I would say, if they allow me to, I would say a three-cigar round. I would try to keep it at a minimum of three.

PGATOUR.COM: Last question. I hear you played Tiger Woods in ping-pong last night. Who won the match?

MJ: Tiger beat me. But I see a lot of chink in his armor. I haven't played in a long, long time. By the end of the week I think I'm going to be on the upside of things. He's good. He's not as good, though.