Golf Magazine USA – September 2019

104 GOLF.COM / S e p t ember 2019

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TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, Hootie & The Blowfish released their Grammy Award–winning

album, Cracked Rear View, with Darius Rucker belting out lead vocals. The band originally

formed at the University of South Carolina back in the ’80s, but long before then, Rucker was

also belting driver around various tracks in his native Charleston. Golf has always played a big

role in Rucker’s life. He rocked the reception at Tiger Woods’s wedding and was among the

faithful at Arnold Palmer’s funeral. But it’s on course where he’s happiest. “Golf is that thing

that gives me a moment to just go ‘okay’ and breathe,” says the single-digit handicapper. “It’s

a great way to take your mind away from anything going on off the course and to enjoy the

outdoors with your buddies.”

Rucker always travels with his sticks and says that playing different courses on the road

is his favorite way to experience each city. Hootie & The Blowfish are currently celebrating

the Cracked Rear View anniversary through October with their nationwide “Group Therapy

Tour.” When that’s over, you’ll find an appreciative Rucker back in Charleston, the town

he’s always called home. —John Ledesma

Travel / My Golf Town

Down Home Charleston

“I LOVE THAT EVERY ROUND YOU PLAY IS DIFFERENT”

With Darius Rucker