I just love the competition . When I really got serious and started taking the lessons , that ’ s when the bug really hit me of what a great game this is , from a number of different standpoints .”
That ’ s when I started hosting my golf tournament down here . It ’ s been some years , but some of the celebrities that I brought to town made this like an event that no one in this area had ever seen . We ’ re talking about Dan Marino , John Elway , Jim Kelly , Thurman Thomas , Eric Dickerson , Marcus Allen , Meatloaf , Richard Roundtree , Marshall Faulk , Torrey Holt , Bernie Kosar just to name a few . I would imagine we ’ ve had about 15 Hall of Famers that have come to my golf tournament in support of local charities .”
SMITH IS STILL USING HIS NAME FOR GOOD , when it comes to golf . In May , he returned to Buffalo with several
THE BRUCE SMITH FILE
AGE : 60 HEIGHT : 6-4 WEIGHT : 262 HANDICAP INDEX : 8.4 BEST SCORE : 75 ( recorded at Bayville )
FIRST NFL SACK : Tommy Kramer , Minnesota , 1985
FINAL NFL SACK : Rex Grossman , Chicago , 2003
HALLS OF FAME : Pro Football HOF , Virginia Tech Sports HOF , College Football HOF , Virginia Sports HOF , Hampton Roads Sports HOF , Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame
NFL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS : 2
FIRST-TEAM ALL-PRO SELECTIONS : 8 PRO BOWL SELECTIONS : 11
FAVORITE VIRGINIA GOLF COURSES : Bayville , Kinloch , Raspberry Falls
FAVORITE GOLF COURSES IN U . S .: Shadow Creek , Whistling Straits , East Lake , Pebble Beach , The Grove XXIII ( Michael Jordan ’ s club ), Country Club of Georgia retired Bills ’ teammates to host a charity tournament honoring Aaron Salter , a former police officer who was working as a security guard at Tops supermarket in Buffalo when a gunman opened fire in 2022 , killing 10 — including Salter . The golf tournament ’ s goal is to raise funds for a scholarship in Salter ’ s name to help provide opportunity for children in Buffalo .
SMITH HAS BEEN A MEMBER AT BAYVILLE FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS . He likes the convenience the club provides — he lives right around the corner and can get on the golf course essentially whenever he wants . He said he loves his fellow
Smith is one of only two players from Virginia Tech selected No . 1 overall in the NFL Draft . Michael Vick was the other .
members and counts many of them as friends . He also patiently waited out Bayville ’ s recent renovation , which shuttered the golf course for most of 2022 . His thoughts after the course re-opened ?
“ I think the architect , Andrew Green , did a fantastic job . I need to have a talk with him about these greens , though ,” Smith said with a laugh . “ The greens are what make this course . The greens we had before were predictable . These greens ? You really have to study them , know the slopes , the break , and the pace to hit the ball .”
SMITH SAYS HIS SHORT GAME IS HIS STRENGTH . He doesn ’ t bomb the ball down the fairway , but he ’ s learned to score around the green .
“ I ’ m not a long-ball hitter , but I can hit it straight ,” Smith said . “ I just played this morning with a buddy of mine , and when we don ’ t have time to play 18 holes , we ’ ll just come out and play nine . He ’ s a bit longer than I am , but when I ’ m hitting my ball solid , he ’ s only got me by about 10 or 15 yards . But he bombs it . The difference is , my short game is where I ’ ve learned to score , because I ’ ve been a scrambler all my life . Chipping and putting , that ’ s where you score , getting it up and down .”
SO WHAT ’ S MORE EXCITING ? Chasing down a quarterback in front of 80,000 screaming fans or dunking ball from the fairway for an unlikely birdie .
“ For me , hitting the blind side of a quarterback pays better ,” Smith joked . “ But the feeling of chipping it in , the feeling of just being out here with four or eight of your
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