Ask Brooks Koepka a question and he’ll answer. It might not be the answer you expect or necessarily want to hear, but it’ll be honest.
The former World No. 1 – who now sits third behind Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm – opened up in great detail in a profile in GQ about what he would change about the game of golf, a sport that he truly loves despite some outside perception.
“One thing I’d change is maybe the stuffiness,” said Koepka, who’s never viewed himself as just a golfer. “Golf has always had this persona of the triple-pleated khaki pants, the button-up shirt, very country club atmosphere, where it doesn’t always have to be that way. That’s part of the problem.”
“Everybody always says, ‘You need to grow the game.’ Well, why do you need to be so buttoned-up? ‘You have to take your hat off when you get in here.’ ‘You’re not allowed in here unless you’re a member — or unless the member’s here.’ Really? I just never really liked the country club atmosphere. I know that drives a lot of people away from liking me. But just ’cause this golf club has such prestige and the members are all famous and have a lot of money. … like, why can’t I show up and just go play the golf course? Why do I have to sit in my car and wait for the member?”
Koepka then used hockey as an example. Players have issues. Then they fight. Then they go to the penalty box, cool off, and continue playing. It’s celebrated in hockey.
“Golf’s just held to a different standard,” added Koepka. “Because it’s supposed to be a gentleman’s sport. And that’s where I think they lose a lot of people. They just do.”
Koepka has previously called golf boring, saying, “If I could do it over again, I’d play baseball, 100 percent, no doubt.” But don’t let his candid criticism and outspoken nature – when asked – fool you. The 29-year-old winner of four major championships, seven PGA Tour and six European Tour tournaments, loves golf.
“I just think people confuse all this for me not loving the game. I love the game. I absolutely love the game,” said Koepka. “I don’t love the stuffy atmosphere that comes along with it. That, to me, isn’t enjoyable.”
When he practices, Koepka looks just like the weekend hacker: Shirt untucked, tennis shoes untied, no belt. That doesn’t fly at most golf clubs.
“But a lot of clubs, if I walked up like that, it’d be: ‘Sir, you need to tuck your shirt in. You need to take your hat off when you get in here.’ That’s just not my style of place. I’m not saying no rules is the answer. But it’s like, you want everyone to enjoy themselves when they’re there, you don’t want to feel like you’re walking on eggshells when you arrive at the golf course. I don’t like feeling like I’m walking on eggshells everywhere I go.”
Besides winning, what does the former Florida State Seminole enjoy about golf? Learning.
“I like the fact that I learn something every time I play,” he explained. “You can go mess around and find some new shot. No matter what you do, you’re never going to have the same shot again. … And I always think that that’s just so cool.”
“I love it,” he added, “but I know how to break away from it. That’s where the confusion lies. Or maybe the misconception of me lies. I absolutely love the game. If I didn’t love it, I’d retire right now. Don’t take me wrong, but I could go off and nobody would ever see me again and I could live a great life. I do it because I actually love golf. I love going to practice, to compete, to tournaments, grinding it out even when you don’t have your best, trying to figure out a way to get it done — that’s fun to me. But the one thing that I’ve been very good at is breaking away from the game when I need to.”
What’s one way he breaks away from the game? By not befriending those he competes with on Tour.
“This might come across the wrong way but I already have enough friends. I don’t need any more,” said Koepka of his relationship with other players. “Just ’cause we work together doesn’t mean we have to be friends. I’ve got enough friends.”
“I just don’t want to be that close with everybody I compete with,” Koepka said. “Like, I don’t even have Rory’s phone number. I didn’t have Tiger’s phone number for the longest time. Like, I just never saved it. … I’ll text guys after they win, you know, but I’m still competitive. I still get mad — I mean, I’m happy for them, but I’m still like, Man, that should’ve been me. Or: That could’ve been me. You know, you still just lost.”
