Hockey players spending their summers on the golf course? No news there. But a young hockey player with strong Massachusetts ties taking his passion for golf into the professional arena? Now that’s a different spin – and one which he is embracing. “When you kind of add that competitiveness element into it, it’s kind of...
Hockey players spending their summers on the golf course? No news there.
But a young hockey player with strong Massachusetts ties taking his passion for golf into the professional arena? Now that’s a different spin – and one which he is embracing.
“When you kind of add that competitiveness element into it, it’s kind of nice to keep that switch on throughout the summer, even if it’s not as intense,” said Matt Boldy, the Millis, Mass., native who had a breakout NHL season for the Minnesota Wild in 2022-23 and is a sponsor’s exemption into an upcoming PGA Tour Canada event.
“It’ll be a good time,” he told reporters. “I’m excited.”
Originally, tournament officials of the PGA Tour Canada’s ERMC Championship had extended the exemption to Ryan Hartman. But Hartman said he was unavailable and suggested his teammate, Boldy, a 22-year-old winger who was the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
The tournament will be played Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 at a Brainerd, Minn., resort, Gertens at Cragun’s Legacy Courses and while the 156-player field might not be household names or be highly placed in the Official World Golf Ranking, Boldly told reporters he knows the landscape he’s up against.
“If I go out there and shoot 100, it’s not going to hurt my feelings,” he said.
Boldy said he and his older brother, Mike, who will caddie for him in the tournament, were introduced to golf by their father, Todd. While he played a lot of golf, his passion for the sport never reached the level he had for hockey.
Boldy traveled quite a route at a serious hockey level. He attended Northville High School then played for Dan Donato at Dexter Southfield. He then moved on to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in the USHL and was recruited by Boston College, where he played two seasons.
Last season, Boldy scored 31 goals and had 63 points for the Wild, giving him a total of 46 and 102 in 128 games over two seasons. So while it’s pretty clear that he’ll remain committed to the ice, Boldy confirmed that he puts in four or five days a week at his favorite Minnesota golf club (Olympic Hills in Eden Prairie).
