Why Justin Rose once told Alice Cooper to ‘back off’ when playing a round of golf

In few other sports do casual players get opportunities to play alongside legends of the game.

It’s part of what makes golf so special. No matter your ability, you can play and compare yourself with the very best players in the world, and at Pro-Ams, amateurs can even play alongside the pros.

Pro-Ams are usually an opportunity for celebrities to meet their golfing heroes, and vice versa, and we’ve heard some hilarious stories over the years about particularly bad celebrities. Jon Rahm once said NFL star JJ Watt was the worst golfer he’s ever seen.

But on a rare occasion, the pros will be outshined by the amateurs, and that’s exactly what happened when rockstar Alice Cooper played with Justin Rose.

The reason why Justin Rose told Alice Cooper to ‘back off’ during a Pro-Am

Cooper is a massive golf fan and even hosts a podcast called Rolling the Rock. Following Rose’s win at the Farmers Insurance Open, he recounted a story of him being told to “back off” by the Englishman.

He said, “I played with Justin Rose at the Bob Hope. He was my pro one day, and I had one of those days, where I started out, par, birdie, birdie, birdie, par. And he comes over to me and he goes, ‘Hey, Alice. Could you back off a little bit? You’re making me look bad!

“He’s laughing! At the end of the day, he shoots 65, and I shoot 74. That’s amazing for me, but the first five holes, I was on fire. I was just hitting everything at the pin. He was laughing because he knew I would cool off.”

He clearly said it as a joke, but it must be a battle trying not to be embarrassed by these amateurs week in, week out in Pro-Ams! Luckily for Rose, he got the last laugh.

How golf saved Alice Cooper from addiction

For Cooper, golf isn’t just a hobby. The sport helped to save him from a severe battle with alcoholism.

He needed a way to channel his addictive personality into something constructive. So he took up golf, and caught the bug.

And he got very good at it. Cooper reportedly has a five-handicap and an impressive swing. He’s been known to play as many as 36 holes a day.

Cooper views golf as a zen-like pursuit of perfection that provides the quiet discipline necessary to recover from addiction, and he’s since become a regular fixture at Pro-Ams and a vocal ambassador for the sport.