Niall Horan’s obsession with golf began when he was growing up in in Mullingar, County Westmeath. He recalls sneaking in to play on a a putting course next to his Grandma’s house when he was aged around five and his interest in the game grew from there.
By the age of 12, he was regularly playing junior competitions. “I was playing a lot when I was younger but once the band kicked off and we were traveling the world, we used to just play a lot to get away from the madness. It’s a nice release to be able to spend four hours thinking about something else,” he told Golf News in a recent interview.
Musician and songwriter Niall Horan opens up about his deep connection to golf and the Masters in the latest episode of Under the Umbrellas. #themasters
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 6, 2025
Music and golf to unwind
A member at Wentworth Golf Club with a handicap of 9, Niall set up Modest! a golf management company almost 10 years ago. And he avidly follows all the major golf tours and events – including the Masters, which gets underway on Thursday.
Niall is in Augusta for the event, and sat down to chat with organizers as part of the Under the Umbrellas conversational series. He’s no stranger to Augusta National Golf Club, as he explained:
“Every single time those gates open, and you drive down Magnolia Lane and walk onto this property. It’s just… it’s like Christmas every time,” he told Kira K. Dixon.
“I have fortunately played this course on multiple occasions. I have birdied 13 a couple of times, which is exactly what you want to do when you’re down there. When I’m here I don’t really care how I play, but just happy to walk around and take in the history. I always say do you remember when Bubba (Watson) hit that shot from the trees on 10 or Phil (Mickelson) hit that crazy shot from the trees on 13. That never gets old.
Niall Horan’s encounter with Jack Nicklaus
“But there was a moment that was unreal one day. We were coming up No. 8. Me and a friend of mine had hit the second shot left into the trees there. As we were looking and waiting for a group on No. 2 to walk by, we realized it was Jack (Nicklaus). And he was wearing a yellow shirt. And he was walking down the hill. That was just an amazing moment. The Bear himself.”
As for his favorite hole on the course, he is quick to reply: “You can’t be really beat 11 green and 12 tee box. Being at 18 at the end of a long day here is like nothing else, too.”
The singer says he’s looking forward to taking in the action, relaxing at the clubhouse with some Georgia Peach Ice Cream sandwiches as a well-known Hoagy Carmichael tune races through his head.
“’Georgia on My Mind’. Georr-gia, Georr-gia. I haven’t performed that in concert or recorded it, but a good friend of mine, Michael Bublé, has it on a record. I love that song so much. I’ve sung it in private with him. So, you never know.”
And as for how he sees this year’s tournament panning out, he concluded, “I would love to see Tyrrell [Hatton] win. That would be great, I think he’s in unbelievable form, he’s one of the best in the world at the moment so if there’s an opportunity, this is it. And of course, if Tyrell doesn’t win, of course I’d love to see Rory [McIlroy] do it. I actually don’t want to say it out loud, I don’t want to put any more eyes on him – he’s already got enough eyes on him. He comes here every year under serious pressure. Hopefully he can get the job done”.
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