'That’s his thing’: How Phoenix Suns guard Damion Lee became a golf fanatic

Damion Lee’s tee shot took two bounces off the cart path, hit a rock and rolled onto the green.

“That might be good,” his caddie said.

Lee had no idea. He had barely played the game and did not hit the ball more than five feet off the ground.

“My swing was ridiculous, terrible back then,” Lee said.

But this time, his ‘‘terrible” swing worked like a charm. The ball tracked to the cup and dropped in. A hole-in-one. In his first year playing golf.

He didn’t even know how to react. He just ran up and grabbed the ball. His playing partners urged him to put it back.

“They were like ‘You got to go do the video of you picking the ball up out of the hole,’ so I did that,” Lee said.

After that moment in 2018 — during his rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks — Lee was hooked. Six years and two NBA teams later, golf is a huge part of Lee’s life.

“If he can find time to golf, he’s definitely going to take advantage of that,” said his Phoenix Suns teammate, Eric Gordon. “That’s his thing.”

Lee’s game took off thanks to his avid golfing in-laws, the Currys. During his time in Golden State from 2018-22, Lee often ventured to the course with his brother-in-law, Stephen Curry. Lee is married to Stephen’s sister, Sydel.

Golfing with Steph

When Lee first started playing, Stephen Curry told him he would be able to pick up golf faster thanks to his shooting skills on the court. Lee has drained 377 threes in his seven-year NBA career at a 37.9% clip.

“Being a shooter, having touch, that’s all golf is about,” he said.

Lee can’t keep up with Curry on the course — the Warriors star is a better-than-scratch golfer and has even competed in professional tournaments — but he is closing the gap. Lee got “serious” about the game since moving to Phoenix and works with swing coach Steve Dahlby at Phoenix Country Club. He now regularly shoots in the 80s.

Lee competed in the Pro-Am at the Memorial Tournament last year with PGA Tour pros Jordan Spieth and Keith Mitchell. He has played at Augusta National and Cypress Point, both among the Top 10 courses in the United States. When he played at Augusta in January 2022, he dared to play from the tips on the back nine.

“That was probably the most humbled golf made me,” Lee said.

The game is more than just a hobby for him. The past two summers in Louisville, where he played collegiately, Lee has hosted a charity golf scramble at the University of Louisville Golf Club to benefit his family's L.E.E Way Foundation.

“Golf has helped me overall as a person, understanding who I am, what I’m about, my awareness in life,” he said. “It helped me being so meticulous and detailed when it comes to basketball as well.

“The game of golf is literally the game of life.”

Lee has missed the entire 2023-24 NBA season so far with a knee injury suffered in the offseason but said he hopes to return before the end of the regular season. In his time away from basketball, golf has been a refuge for him.

Damion Lee rehabbing through ... golf?

“That’s the biggest thing that’s helped me now during this rehab process,” Lee said.

He also enjoys watching golf. He attended the WM Phoenix Open last year and said he plans to return for Sunday’s final round.

“It was unbelievable,” Lee said. “Seeing the reactions of the fans, seeing how the crowd is, but then seeing how the golfers were embracing it. All the pros were embracing the atmosphere, knowing that it’s one of a kind.”

According to Lee, Devin Booker is the only other Suns player who loves to golf.

“It’s just peaceful,” Booker said. “Whenever I can get 18 holes in — or 36 holes unbothered, like I tweeted one time — those are the best days.”

Booker said he hasn’t been able to play much golf since the start of the NBA season. But he’ll be back on the course this summer — likely with Lee. The two Suns guards play together often.

“It’s always just a vibe,” Lee said of golfing with Booker. “Just hanging out and having someone that you can just build that camaraderie with.”

Lee won’t say who’s better.

“Me and (Booker) are pretty close,” he said. “He hasn’t played in a while, so I’m not gonna try to take the crown. But I’ll be there. I’ll be there soon.”

King Jemison is a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'That’s his thing’: How Suns guard Damion Lee became a golf fanatic