Ryan Longwell, recently released by the Minnesota Vikings, at home on the putting green of Olympic Hills Golf Club, Eden Prairie, Minn.
By Joe Oberle, MGA Guest Blogger
Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell, just recently released from the Minnesota football franchise, likens booting the pigskin to busting the long drive. One of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, Longwell says there are similarities between kicking accuracy and consistent golf. The son of a former club pro in Portland, Ore., Longwell (a +1.2) plays out of Isleworth in Orlando during the NFL offseason and Olympic Hills Golf Club in Eden Prairie, when he’s in Minnesota, and he is considering a golf career after his kicking days are done.
Minnesota Golfer managing editor and MGA guest blogger Joe Oberle interviewed Longwell at Olympic Hills.
Kicking and swinging a golf club are very similar because the golf swing comes down to rhythm and timing. There are little guys who can hit it a mile, but there’s guys like Dustin Johnson who can, too. And that translates into kicking–it’s rhythm and timing. It’s not always the biggest and strongest guy who can kick it the farthest, it’s the guy who can get all his leg speed into the ball at the right time.
Golf and kicking share a mental aspect. No matter what happened on the last shot on the course or the last kick, the next one is the most important one. I think that approach and my training over the years in golf has definitely helped my football. The next shot or kick is the most important one, no matter what has happened previously.
Part of kicking the game winner is you have to be okay with the bad result, too. You have to be okay with missing the putt and you have to be okay with missing the kick and the wrath that comes with it. That almost frees you up a little bit to swing away and go make the kick, when [you know] you’ll be okay. ‘I am still the same human being whether I make or miss this thing.’ Some fans might not look at it this way, but . . .
Kicking and golf come down to one thing–the six inches of contact with the ball. No matter how you get there, it doesn’t matter as long as you can repeat it. There are a 1,001 ways you can kick a football, but as long as your foot is going through the six inches that contacts the ball straight ,you are going to hit a pretty good ball. It’s like Jim Furyk versus Fred Couples–those swings are night and day. The two swings get you in the impact zone the same way every time. If you can repeat that, you’ve got a chance.
Minnesota and Florida have totally different grasses. The greens are much easier to putt up here with the bentgrass versus bermudagrass down south. Grain really is not a factor up here. I grew up in Oregon, so I love playing amongst the big trees and the courses in the Midwest rather than the pine barren mound type courses down in Florida. Both have their benefits and difficulties, but I love seeing the bentgrass after a summer spent on bermuda.
My earliest memories were outside on the putting green and digging up the driving range at Glen Acres CC outside Seattle. I was fortunate enough that my dad got me into golf early and taught me the basics–the swing and etiquette. He taught me etiquette around old members of the club when I was tiny so I have always had a good appreciation of the game and proper etiquette. It is the best thing about golf. It’s an honor game, but it’s about how you should behave.
I’ve joked about trying the Senior Tour but one guy named Mickelson will already be there and another named Woods turns 50 the year I do, so I think it is an uphill battle. I am just curious to see how good I could get, dedicating full time to golf. I have been blessed to play 16 years in the NFL, but they have been in Green Bay and Minnesota, where winters aren’t real conducive to practicing golf. There’s a real chance that my putting and short game improve by playing year round, and I would be interested to see if I can do that.
After a stellar 15-year NFL career, including six years as a Minnesota Viking, place kicker Ryan Longwell was released by the team, as they pursued younger players to rebuild their roster. Longwell, a major contributor to the team and the community, will be missed by both.
“Ryan has meant a great deal to the Vikings organization both on and off the field over the past 6 seasons,” said head coach Leslie Frazier. “We wish him all the best in the future and thank him for his service to the Minnesota Vikings.”