Wayne Gretzky has finally explained what he was doing barefoot on the golf course with Travis Kelce in a photo that went viral last year.
Gretzky, 64, appeared on Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast, which he cohosts with his brother, Jason, on Wednesday, May 28, when the topic arose.
“You know what pissed me off about the whole thing?” Gretzky asked. “We took the picture and everyone sent me letters and phone calls, ‘what are you doing golfing in bare feet?’ I wasn’t golfing. I wanted to take a picture. I wanted to do a nice thing and I’m the one taking all the heat.”
The impromptu photo op happened while the hockey legend was visiting the home of a friend who lived along the course, located in Tennessee. When his wife, Janet, called and said she was on her way through, he rushed out (without putting his shoes back on) to take a photo with her group, which included Travis, 35, and pro golfer Dustin Johnson. He also gifted Travis a head cover that Jason called “the greatest head cover I have ever seen in my life.”
What Gretzky thought was a quick photo turned into a viral moment when his daughter, Paulina, shared it via her Instagram account as part of a Father’s Day tribute to him last June.
Though The Great One didn’t actually go 18 holes without shoes, the idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds. PGA Tour pro Joseph Bramlett went barefoot in 2013 as he was recovering from a back injury.
“The reason hitting the ball barefoot has been really helpful for me is with my old swing patterns,” Bramlett, 37, said in a video via X in 2019. “If I were to swing with shoes on, I would jump off the ground, my foot would get up, I’d land on my ankle and it would hurt really bad.”
He added, “So because I don’t have the support without shoes on, it forces me to feel the ground between my feet and my toes and really grip the ground on my downswing, which in turn, slows my hip turn and gets the clubs and arms working more in sync, putting less stress on my lower back.”
As for Gretzky, who played 20 celebrated years in the NHL, he gave Travis more than just a head cover. Before he left the podcast, he told the Kansas City Chiefs tight end not to retire until he is ready. Travis openly considered retirement after last season when his Chiefs lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. It was a rough end to one of his worst seasons statistically.
“Don’t let them take the jersey away from you until you’re absolutely ready to quit,” Gretzky said. “Make them rip it off your back.”
