Kai Kroeger explains how golf is identical to punting in football
Kai Kroeger is good at a lot of things. He’s one of the best punters in college football and a perfect 6-for-6 passing with three touchdowns to show for it.
On top of his football talents, he’s also pretty good at golf. Kroeger shared at SEC Media Days that he shoots around 80 when he plays.
“Eh, he’s alright,” said Spencer Rattler, who in his own right is an avid golfer, too.
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Whenever he gets a chance, Kroeger will most likely be playing golf. It’s a sport that he loves just like football.
In the midst of a three-game win streak last season, Kroeger was struggling on the field. He wasn’t punting as well as he had been used to. So he turned to golf.
“After the bye week, we had the Texas A&M game. I got back and this kind of started a new superstition for me,” Kroeger said. “I played around a golf the day before we left for the hotel, or the morning of sometimes depending on when we leave. But it’s kind of just like hitting golf balls before the game. And then I punted, good, and we won the game.
“So it’s like you keep doing it. And obviously, we didn’t win every game after that, but I was performing better than I had ever have before. And so, I kept doing that.”
From the Texas A&M game on, Kroeger caught fire. He averaged 48.5 yards per punt in the final seven games of the year. But he saved his best work for a memorable afternoon in Death Valley.
“The Clemson game was just unbelievable. I felt like I had full control of what I was doing. And you know, a lot of that was good breaks, but it is still crazy,” he said.
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Kroeger punted seven times against Clemson, averaging a season-high 53.7 yards. Five of his kicks landed inside the 20-yard line. Thanks to his heroics, South Carolina would ultimately win, 31-30.
Heading into this season, Kroeger doesn’t plan on breaking his newfound tradition. Believe it or not, he said golf is identical to punting.
“Think about when I’m trying to hit a shorter punt, it’s like trying to chip a wedge and have it spin three feet,” Kroeger said. “I’ll use techniques like that to make it easier on myself and to make him more laid back and just think you’re just swinging an easy wedge and it’ll do its job from there.”
Likewise, while golf isn’t physical like football is, it’s nearly just as much of a mental game.
“For golf, if your club faces a degree open, you can slice it,” Kroeger said. “And for punting, if your drop is an inch inside, then you’ll hit like a 20 yard punt. So in that sense, it also relates.”
As for how his golf game compares to the rest, Kroeger didn’t nominate himself for the best on the team. Instead, he went with redshirt senior specialist Alex Herrera.
“I’m definitely giving him a run for his money,” he said. “I mean, I practice almost every day just like football. So I hope I can keep getting better.”
