1989 Golf Nut of the Year
You can see from his Nut # that MJ is one of our earliest members. He is also a board member. He joined in our first year, 1986, and went on to win the Golf Nut of the Year title in 1989. Michael Jordan winning a title? Who would have ever guessed?
Proving that he’s still a Certified Golf Nut, #0023 recently built his own personal golf course, The Grove XXIII in Florida. He picked up 5,000 Nut Points for that move. You have to admit, the man does know how to score.
As you read his Bonus Points Summary, keep in mind that nearly all of his Golf Nut Points were earned during his epic basketball career.
Michael Jordan’s 1989 Golf Nut of the Year Bonus Points Summary
EXAM SCORE: 5,923 POINTS
BONUS NUT POINTS: 20,859 POINTS
TOTAL : 26,782 POINTS
BONUS NUT POINTS
1. Plays no basketball during the off-season. Ruling: 300 Points.
2. Takes his clubs with him everywhere during the off-season. 300 Points.
3. Played over 150 rounds of golf in 1989 during his four-month off-season. That’s 37.5 rounds a month, in addition to all of his other off-season promotional and business activities. 375 Points.
4. Played in 5 PGA Tour and 12 charity events during the summer of 1989. 170 Points.
5. Plays golf or hits balls every single day during the off-season. 200 Points.
6. Has a six-hole putting green in the basement of his home. 60 points.
7. Has been seen on more than one occasion practicing his swing in front of the picture window in the front yard of his Chicago home im the dead of winter in below-freezing temperatures. 100 Points.
8. Hits whiffle balls in the living room of his home while his wife films his swing with a video camera. 250 Points.
9. Is building a new home with a nine-hole outdoor putting green and an indoor golf center complete with driving net, high- speed video camera, computerized golf swing analyzer and six- hole putting green. 2,000 Points.
10. Immediately after playing in the 1988 Fred Meyer Challenge Pro-Am in Portland, Oregon he drove across town to another golf course and played until dark, then boarded a Lear jet the next morning and flew to Vail, Colorado where he teed-off that afternoon in the Jerry Ford Invitational Pro-Am. 300 Points.
11. Hosted the Michael Jordan Charity Golf Classic in North Carolina on June 19, 1988, and then took a “red-eye” to Portland, Oregon where he played the following morning in the United Cerebral Palsey Charity event. He then skipped the post-round dinner and played until dark, caught a late-night flight to Seattle, Washington where he enjoyed a friendly foursome match the following morning. Three rounds in three cities in three days, coast-to-coast. 350 Points.
12. Teed-off with The Head Nut at 2 p.m. in Vancouver, Washington and played 45 holes of golf (eight consecutive hours), finishing his “round” at 10 p.m. in total darkness. Michael then boarded an 11:15 p.m. flight and flew all night to Chicago where he drove directly to Olympia Fields Golf Club and played another 54 holes of golf. A grand total of 99 holes in less than 24 hours in two cities half a continent apart. 500 Points.
13. Was a “no-show” for his 1988 NBA MVP award in Chicago. He was at Pinehurst Golf Resort in North Carolina playing 36 holes of golf, and had been there since the day after the NBA season ended.
He began each day with a 7:30 A.M. lesson, followed by 18 holes of golf, followed by a one-hour practice session on the range. After lunch, another hour of practice, followed by a second 18 holes, followed by yet another hour of practice. This continued for two consecutive week.; the final total being 504 holes of golf and who knows how many practice balls! Ruling: 1,000 Points.
14. The day following the end of his 1989 NBA season he left Chicago at 5 p.m. and drove all night to Pinehurst, North Carolina (a distance of 800 miles) where he joined friends the next morning for a 10 a.m. tee time and 36 holes of golf, without a wink of sleep the night before. He then drove to Rexford Plantation, South Carolina and played 54 holes a day for four consecutive days. 252 holes of golf in 5 days in 2 different cities. 300 Points.
15. Had “Registered Golf Nut” license plate frames on the front and back license plates of all four of his automobiles, including his Ferrari Testarossa when named Golf Nut of the Year. 200 Points.
16. Organized the first-annual “Michael Jordan UNCF Celebrity Classic” golf tournament this past year. 500 Points.
17. Played until after dark and missed most of the pairings party on the first evening of the “UNCF Celebrity Classic”. 200 Points.
18. Missed the cocktail hour and was a half-hour late for the black-tie dinner the second evening of the “Classic”, because he was getting in a few extra holes. 200 Points.
19. Played 36 holes in Phoenix with three Certified Golf Nuts the day before he and the Bulls defeated the Phoenix Suns for the 1993 NBA Championship. 1,036 Points
In winning the 1989 Golf Nut of the Year title, Michael Jordan also became the all-time leading scorer in the Golf Nut Society, a title he held for a few years before relinquishing it to Bob Fagan a few years later.
Additional bonus points earned after winning Golf Nut of the Year title…
1. Withdrew from 1990 NBA “Slam Dunk Contest “due to injury”, and played 36 holes of golf the same day. 360 Points
2. Respectfully declined to attend a White House reception for the 1991 World Champion Chicago Bulls. Played golf instead. 1,000 Points
3. Upon being notified of a one-game suspension by the NBA two days before the All-Star Game in Orlando, he immediately flew to Orlando and played 36 holes of golf while his Bulls teammates were playing a game in Phoenix. He also skipped the NBA All-Star Game’s “Media Day” to play another 36 holes. 860 Points
4. Challenged Mickey Mouse to a putting contest while in Orlando. 100 Points
5. When the 1993 All-Star Game was held in chilly Salt Lake City, he skipped “Media Day” and flew to Las Vegas with two other All-Stars to play golf at famous Shadow Creek. When asked why he flew to Las Vegas, he stated that the NBA should arrange to hold All-Star Games only in warm-weather cities so he could more easily play golf. 500 Points.
6. Played 36 holes of golf with T.H. Nut on the day before the first game of the 1993 NBA Finals in Phoenix, squeezing basketball practice in between the two rounds. 360 Points.
7. Played another 18 holes on the day between Game 1 and Game 2 of the NBA Finals. 180 Points.
8. Retired from basketball at the peak of his career in order to play more golf. 3,000 Points
9. Lived on a golf course while playing minor league baseball in the summer of 1994. 500 Points
10. Played golf everyday while playing in the Phoenix Fall Baseball League. 500 Points
11. Got up at 4 AM in Chicago on the morning after having his jersey retired, and flew to Carefree, Arizona to play 27 holes of golf with The Head Nut, Roy Green and Garry Templeton. 400 Points
12. In 2019, he built his own exclusive golf course in Florida and he doesn’t even live in Florida. 5,018 Points
This is only a partial listing of Michael Jordan’s accumulated bonus points, but you get the idea. MJ is certifiable.