Manning enjoyed an eventful offseason away from the field, bouncing around the country and even the globe on something of a world tour. He spent some time visiting with U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, threw passes from 30,000 feet in the air — on a military jet, of course — and even got in a few good rounds of golf, including a memorable one at Augusta National, according to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times.
Manning joined Denver Broncos vice president of football operations John Elway and head coach John Fox for a weekend at the historic Masters course, and the future Hall of Fame quarterback didn’t disappoint. He shot an impressive 77 during one of his three rounds at Augusta earlier in May, which was better than  both Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy shot during Day 3 of The Masters this year. Unsurprisingly, Manning’s achievement was overshadowed by Elway who shot a 79, 74 and 72 during the weekend.
But Augusta wasn’t the only course Manning played this offseason, and that 77 wasn’t even his best moment out on the links. He also played at Castle Pines Golf Club just outside of Denver and managed to ace hole No. 7 on the course from 166 yards out. Manning said he hit an 8-iron and the ball one hopped right into the hole. But, as only seems fit for Manning, this isn’t the first time he’s nailed a hole in one.
“I made one in college, but I was with some buddies,” Manning said. “This was the first one I’d ever seen go in. In college, we looked in the bunker, the woods, everywhere, and somebody said, ‘It’s in the hole!’ It’s a little anticlimactic.”
Manning was at least able to enjoy this one, but it was actually his friends who most enjoyed the accomplishment.
“But the guys I was playing with this time, they were so excited. I mean, I was excited, but you’ve seen me when I throw a touchdown; I’m kind of ho-hum. These guys went nuts.”
With OTAs back in full swing, Manning might not get many more shots out on the golf course this season. But, as expected, Manning would rather be finding holes in an opposing defense than sinking them out on the links, and he’ll be doing just that soon enough.
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