Tom Brady and Bill Belichick shared lots of special moments together on the football field.
But, as Belichick disclosed during his guest appearance on Brady’s retirement sendoff edition of the “Let’s Go!” podcast, the duo also shared a potentially harrowing experience during a Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach years ago.
Last night, Belichick recanted the time Brady, ever the competitor, risked life and limb to play a wayward tee shot.
“So, Tom and I played together for three days in the Pro-Am out there,” Belichick said, via NESN.com. “And I think, if I could sum up Tom Brady in one picture, it would be on the sixth hole where he drove the ball to the right — it looked like he was over the cliff, right, when he teed off, he was way to the right — and we get down there, and he’s standing over the cliff, and he’s like, ‘I think I see it.’ And he takes his club down there and he climbs over the cliff. I can only see from about his shoulders up. Now, it’s 200 feet down into the rocks. There’s no way he survives this fall. And I’m looking at the greatest quarterback, our player, Tom Brady standing there, literally on a goddamn ledge.
“And he hits the ball off the ledge, up the hill to the sixth green, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘I mean, this is Tom Brady.’ Like, No. 1: super competitor. He’s trying to hit this impossible shot. Comes pretty close to honestly dying and landing in the goddamn rocks 200 feet below. All in the name of competition, and being the best he can be and taking whatever the situation is, wherever the ball lands, and playing it, hitting the next good shot. And I was like, man, when I saw him climb over the hill back on there, I’m like, ‘Just take the two-stroke penalty, man.’
This actually isn’t the first time Belichick has told this story. He did it at least once almost five years ago, on a podcast with NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport.
Thankfully, this story ended happily ever after. Brady even admitted last night he should have just swallowed his pride and taken the penalty.
“I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life,” Brady said. “That was probably right at the top of the list. I mean, I’ve done a lot of stupid (expletive). I’m glad I didn’t pay the price for that one.”
So are legions of Patriots fans, Tom.