Celebrities who you may not know are serious golfers

Anyone who's played golf knows it's a nuanced sport. The smallest details can make the largest differences, from knowing how wide your stance should be depending on the club you're using to finding the perfect ball position. The sport is also perceived as luxurious and exclusive, which might be why it's so attractive to celebrities.

Owning a membership to an expensive country club does not make someone a good golfer, but there are several famous people who are serious about the sport—so much so that a particular A-list actor has a clause in his contracts stating he must be allowed to play golf twice a week while shooting a project. Others spend money on trainers to help with their techniques or even buy their own golf course so they can practice whenever they want.

Golf requires immense concentration and focus but doesn't put much strain on your body, which means celebrities can enjoy playing without worrying about injuries.

Adam Sandler and Justin Timberlake are known for their love of golf, but there are several other avid celebrity golfers who may surprise you. PrimePutt compiled a list of celebrities who you may not know are serious golfers using reports from Golf Monthly, Golf.com, and more.

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Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba is an actor known for her role as Sue Storm in "Fantastic Four," but she's also a talented golfer and frequents the links with her husband, Cash Warren. She played in the 2014 Mission Hills World Celebrity Pro-Am. In April, Alba and Warren were seen playing a round while in Hawai'i.

Dennis Quaid

Dennis Quaid has starred in movies about various sports, from cycling ("Breaking Away") to football ("Any Given Sunday"), but none have been more fitting than a 2023 golf movie called "The Long Game." Quaid is an avid golfer and has said his handicap was an impressive 0.6 in 2007 before he became a dad of twins; then, it dropped to an 8. The actor has a membership at Bel-Air Country Club.

Celine Dion

Vocal powerhouse Celine Dion is one of the bestselling female artists of all time, and she invested some of the money from the 230 million records she's sold in a golf course. The singer purchased Le Mirage Golf Club in Québec in 1997 with her late husband, René Angélil. She sold the property in 2020 but remains a partner.

Samuel L. Jackson

When the highest-grossing actor of all time asks for something, you give him what he wants. For Samuel L. Jackson, that means playing golf. In 2013, the movie star revealed that he has a clause in his contracts that states the filmmaker must allow him to play golf at least twice a week. Jackson has a handicap of 6.9 and has participated in numerous charity events and pro-ams.

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones may have won an Oscar for her role in "Chicago," but that's not what she considers "a dream come true." In 2023, the Welsh actor used that phrase to describe how it felt to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for the first time. She and husband Michael Douglas are often seen playing golf together, and Zeta-Jones has declared publicly that she "can kick his a--."

Billy Crudup

Billy Crudup is a film and television star best known for his role as Russell Hammond in the movie "Almost Famous" and snagged an Emmy for his work on the TV series "The Morning Show." Acting is not a stable career, which Crudup learned early on, and he found playing golf to be the meditation he needed between jobs. In 2007, Golf Digest named Crudup the third-best golfer in Hollywood. His handicap was an admirable 4.5 at the time. In 2023, it was 8.8, which is still far under the men's average handicap index of 16.

George Lopez

George Lopez gets paid to tell jokes, but the comedian is serious when it comes to golf. In 2008, he launched the George Lopez Celebrity Golf Classic at Lakeside Golf Club in Los Angeles, where he's been a longtime member. In 2023, Lopez said he golfs twice a week because of the proximity of Lakeside to Universal Studios, where he shoots his sitcom "Lopez vs. Lopez."

Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle is an Oscar-nominated actor and activist. He's also an avid golfer. Cheadle combines his love of philanthropy and golf by frequenting charity pro-ams and tournaments. In 2020, he boasted a 7.6 handicap and told the United States Golf Association that he plays around 50 rounds a year.

Kathryn Newton

If Kathryn Newton ever decides to quit acting, it will probably be to become a pro golfer. The "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" actor started golfing when she was four years old and had the chance to play collegiately at the University of Southern California but chose to focus on her acting career instead. Newton is still an exceptional golfer and has participated in many prestigious tournaments.

Alice Cooper

He may be considered "The Godfather of Shock Rock," but when he's not on stage, Alice Cooper frequents the fairways. The rock star has been an avid golfer for decades. In 2021, at the age of 73, he was playing six days a week (something he'd been doing for 30 years) and held an eye-popping handicap of 4.

Story editing by Mike Taylor. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

This story originally appeared on PrimePutt and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.