If it’s a day that ends in the letter “y,” there is a good chance The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is buzzing. Andrew Santino is part of many text chains, but this one holds a special place in the comedian’s heart—not just because of who is on it, but what the chatter entails. The group includes celebrities like Charlie Day, Rob McElhenney, Michael Pena and Scott Caan as well as several of Santino’s non-Hollywood buddies. The common link? They’re all avid golfers at the same L.A.-area club.
“Well, Mac joined somewhere else, so we don’t see him anymore. He’s better than us,” Santino deadpans before breaking into a smile. “No, we still see him sometimes.”
Santino spends a lot of time on the golf course these days despite a bustling career that continues to expand. The 40-year-old made a name for himself as a stand-up, but the acting gigs have been piling up, most notably with TV roles in “This Is Us,” “I’m Dying up Here” and “Dave,” as well as the movies “The Disaster Artist” and the 2024 release “Ricky Stanicky.” In addition to a busy stand-up schedule, the red-hot redhead also hosts two popular podcasts, “Whiskey Ginger” and “Bad Friends” with Bobby Lee.
Santino plays to a 3-handicap and has a career-best score of 69 despite not taking lessons. He has never been a range rat and prefers to spend his precious free time on the course, even in the evening before going on stage for a show. “I’ll play anytime I can,” says Santino, who often brings his clubs on tour. “I’m an addict. It’s an addiction. It’s disgusting. It’s sick. It’s twisted.”
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Being a member at a club reminds Santino of how far he has come. Raised in downtown Chicago for much of his childhood by a single, working mom who just retired this year, Santino was never a country-club kid. Golf wasn’t really part of his life until his 30s save for sneaking onto the Arizona State University course a few times when he was a student there.
“I’ve always loved golf. I just didn’t have time or money. As a stand-up comedian, a lot of us are broke for a long time,” says Santino, who used comedy as a child to cope with sadness stemming from his humble beginnings. “Now I’m 40. My career is going well. I’m very blessed, and I get a little bit more time to have some more fun, but I worked for it, so I’m proud of it.”
Santino starred alongside John Cena and Zac Efron in “Ricky Stanicky” but he is more excited to talk about the golf he got to play while shooting the movie in Australia. Santino says it was a great bonding experience with castmates, in particular Efron, and he loved how the Australian private clubs seemed much cooler than their American counterparts when it came to letting outsiders play.
“Beautiful golf courses, wonderful people,” Santino says. “They’re warm, inviting, and they love to have a couple of drinks, which I’m also a fan of.” One place in particular, the high-end Capital Golf Club, stood out. “It’s the strangest thing you’ve ever seen. No one’s there,” Santino says. “We had the golf course to ourselves. Quite literally, there was one man in the pro shop and one kid working in the carts. It was shocking. Presidents and dignitaries and super high rollers get to play, and they let my stupid face into that gate for some reason.”
Peter Farrelly, Jeff Ross, Anja Savcic, Andrew Santino, Jermaine Fowler, Lex Scott Davis and John Cena attend the “Ricky Stanicky” New York Premiere.
Dimitrios Kambouris
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Santino has also played in front of large crowds, including at last year’s LIV Golf Chicago pro-am. He is very proud of his victory with Pat Perez and Eugenio Chacarra—as well as the bunker shot he pulled off in front of Phil Mickelson.
“I said, ‘Lefty, you’re not going to give me anything?’ He goes, ‘Well, you’re set up all wrong. … Put the ball in the front of your foot, open the face much more, lean all your weight on your front foot and put your shoulder down,’ ” Santino recalls. “So I did. I slapped down on it as hard as I could, and I got it out of the trap and left myself a six-footer, and I was so happy. He’ll never remember that, but he goes, ‘Good shot.’ I’ll take it.”
What Santino won’t take—or give—are putts beyond obvious tap-ins. “Gimmes? That’s disgusting,” he says. “Gimme a break. That’s what I say.” He takes his rounds pretty seriously—as do some of his A-list pals, in particular, Jason Bateman.
“We took a boys trip to Bandon Dunes a couple years ago. He’s so much fun and a great golfer, but he also gets real chippy,” Santino says of the actor. “He’s got some words that’ll sting—and he’s got a swing that’ll do just the same.” Santino cherishes those trips and sees them as an escape from his hectic routine. His most recent golf adventure was a week-long jaunt in June to Scotland, where he and some friends played six courses, highlighted by a 76 at St. Andrews.
“You’re waking up early and trying to get in 36 holes; it’s beautiful,” he says. “There’s something about that that really bonds you with your buddies, and it’s important as I get older to do those things more. People have families and kids, and it gets harder and harder.”
If Santino could make a few golf dreams happen, he would love to play with Larry David, whom Santino met while appearing in a 2020 episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in which he played a plumber building a special urinal (the “Pee Cube”) for David’s fictional coffee shop, Latte Larry’s. “I want him to know that I’m pretty, pretty good,” Santino jokes. He’d also like to be more involved in the celebrity golf circuit.
“I’m trying to embed myself a little bit more in it because it’s what I love, and I want to have a little bit more comedy in golf. It needs it,” Santino says.
In the meantime, Santino is having plenty of fun being in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen—especially if everyone is putting everything out.
Top photo by Peter Yang
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
