The former MLB player’s conversations shift to golf’s profile — and the crazy power it generates
In an 11-year Major League Baseball career, Aaron Hicks shined beyond the power of the warning track. The former outfielder drove in 109 home runs, most of which came during his tenure with the New York Yankees.
However, these days it’s on the golf course where he really lets it fly.
Since retiring from baseball after the 2024 season, Hicks, 36, has returned to the sport he excelled in as a youngster, and the results have been impressive. He is already a multiple winner on the Pro Tour, a circuit for current and former athletes from other sports. His incredible length – he can drive it more than 400 yards – has become a calling card.
Appearing this week on GOLF’s Subpar podcast with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, Hicks revealed that he regularly produces ball speeds north of 200 mph, with a personal best of 207 mph. For perspective, the average PGA Tour player cruises at 175 mph. Hicks’ numbers are just north of Rory McIlroy’s, close to Bryson DeChambeau’s.
Power has never been his problem. And, it seems, no golf.
Growing up in Southern California, Hicks was an outstanding young player. He learned the game from his father, Joe, a former minor leaguer and avid golfer, and competed on many of the same courses where Tiger Woods honed his skills. (These days, Hicks has another connection to the Woods family: He’s married to former LPGA player Cheyenne Woods, Tiger’s niece.)
Why didn’t he stick to golf as a kid?
In Subpar, Hicks shared the story of the time he left the game for baseball.
His father had promised him a new set of clubs if he won the junior tournament. Hicks did just that. But when it came time to collect, Joe Hicks had changed his mind.
“Clubs don’t make a player,” said his father. “A player makes clubs.”
His father may have been right, but the lesson was lost on his young son.
“‘You didn’t keep your promise,'” Hicks remembers thinking. “‘I’m going to play baseball.'”
That decision served him well. But after hearing the kind of speed Hicks is now producing with a driver, it’s hard not to wonder what would have happened if he had been hitting golf the whole time. You can listen to the entire episode here. You can watch the entire video below.
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