Bush didn’t stay horrible for long. After fundraising, he started taking golf lessons and now plays with a handicap of 9, making regular appearances on the PGA Tour pros.
“It’s competitiveness, it’s wanting to be great, and it’s giving me something to do after football,” says Bush, 35. “I’m still an athlete. Just because I’m not playing football doesn’t mean the athlete in me stops. I still have that drive and determination to want to be great in almost everything I do. I love that I discovered the golf. I wish I’d found it sooner. “
Gaining control of the driver was crucial. “Speed is one of the hardest things to control, especially for someone who is big and strong, who is used to being hit by grown men, and now you’re swinging this little stick,” says Bush. “The pilot was my biggest problem, because I was swinging so hard and so fast. I made contact and that ball was spinning, going where it wanted.”
The driver is now going straight, sometimes up to 350 yards. “Now that my driver is right, I’m not afraid,” says Bush. “Change everything. Change my confidence as a person. The better I hit the driver, the more confident I am in life. “
Away from the course, Bush keeps busy with some TV work. He announces some college football games on Fox Sports and this summer he appeared on a Fox reality show called “Celebrity Watch Party”.
While he admits his first golf fundraiser wasn’t a huge financial success, he has improved in that too. Last year, he and Lilit raised $ 350,000 for one of his favorite charities, the Birthday Party Project, which organizes birthday parties for homeless children.
Bush lives in San Diego, where he grew up, and belongs to the Del Mar Country Club. He says he plays best with his wife. Lilit is new to the game, but she has a good swing and the benefit of great strength and coordination from her background as a dancer.
“When I play with my boys, I’m competitive, I try to prove something,” says Bush. “And in golf, trying is the worst thing you can do. When I am with my wife, I am relaxed, calm, we have great conversations. I’ve played some of my best rounds with my wife. “
They’ve made it a family business lately. Del Mar has six-seater trolleys, perfect for them. Everyone piles up, with iPads for their three young children in case anyone gets tired of playing.
“I never want it to look like something they have to do. I want it to be our family time, the way we converse, the way we build our chemistry, the way we laugh and cry, “Bush says.” I hope they build a passion for it, because we can play it for the rest of our life. “
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