Golf and charity a good combination for Clippers coach Doc Rivers
Before Doc Rivers played golf in the Clippers' annual charity tournament on Tuesday at Trump National, he had a phone conversation with Donald Trump.
Doesn't everyone start a round of golf at Trump National that way? No, that doesn't come with the green fees.
Rivers and Trump are friends and have golfed together before. Rivers, an avid golfer, had played here before, too.
"It's a beautiful course," Rivers said. "Beautiful place. Very challenging. It's challenging to get here, actually."
It's challenging to drive anywhere in Los Angeles in the morning, but this was for a good cause. Tuesday's event, coupled with a dinner and auction after golf, was about raising money for the Clippers Foundation and Special Olympics of Southern California.
The golf -- at the oceanfront course -- was an avenue to help fundraise.
"This is great," Rivers said. "Obviously, getting everyone together and raising money is terrific. We like that."
And Rivers likes to golf. He played more golf than ever this summer than usual, he said, but has had no problem talking about how his game somehow got worse. He once was a single-digit handicapper and now plays to a 14-handicap.
Even though golf can be frustrating, Rivers enjoys it. And at Trump National, there are those breathtaking views of the ocean.
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"It just gets my mind off everything," Rivers said. "With golf, you have to really focus. Anything that can take the focus off my job sometimes is good. Very needed, at least for me it is. I wish I was better at it."
Rivers is so enamored with golf and the benefits he's reaped, that he's tried to get coaches and players involved in the game. When he coached the Celtics, he had players take up the game. Even during the NBA Finals.
"In the Finals, several times I made guys go golf actually just to get them out of their rooms," Rivers said. "There's a lot of stuff out there, and you've got to take your focus off it."
Clippers players had the day off Tuesday, although some players went in to get treatment. Players were scheduled to be at the golf club for the charity dinner.
Rivers can take the focus off basketball more in Los Angeles than he could in Boston, since he can play through the winter months. While that may help his state of mind, that apparently hasn't helped his golf game.