Entertainment Sports NFL Star George Kittle Built Himself a Backyard Golf Course After Watching the 2021 Masters "We'll just throw a cooler in the back of the golf cart and play 18 on my property. ... It's a good time," George Kittle said on the I Am Athlete podcast By Jason Hahn Jason Hahn Jason Hahn is a former Human Interest and Sports Reporter for PEOPLE. He started at PEOPLE's Los Angeles Bureau as a writer and reporter in 2017 and interviewed the likes of Kobe Bryant, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Tom Brady. He has a B.A. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University. He previously worked for Complex Magazine in New York City. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 29, 2022 03:23PM EDT Photo: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Whenever San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle hangs up his cleats, he already has a post-retirement plan in place. As the 28-year-old tight end revealed in a recent interview with I Am Athlete, he and a friend were inspired to mow a six-hole golf course into his 75-acre property after they watched the Masters tournament last year. "I have plenty of space, and he was like, 'Let's just go mow a golf course,' " Kittle recalled in the interview. "So me and one of my buddies we mowed everything down to like one inch and put flags up for four par three's and two par four golf holes." "We'll just go out there and play like three rounds, six holes, three rounds of 18, and just go out there every day after we lift on a Friday," he added of the Nashville property. "I got golf carts too, so we'll just throw a cooler in the back of the golf cart and play 18 on my property. ... It's a good time." Kittle also said he didn't have to put too much work into convincing his wife, Claire, about the idea. Tiger Woods 'Just Showing Up' at 2022 Masters After Injuries 'Is a Victory,' Source Says "It might have been her idea too," he recalled to I Am Athlete. "She's like, 'Why aren't you guys outside golfing?' Why are we inside it's a beautiful day — [my friend and I] looked at each other and we're like, 'That's a good idea! Let's hop on the mower.' " "It's an absolute blast," Kittle added. Kittle is one of many professional athletes who have taken up golf as a side hobby. One of the most prominent stars to do so is Golden State Warriors athlete Stephen Curry, who plays so much golf that at one point his young son, Canon, didn't realize he actually played basketball for a living. Tiger Woods at the Masters: A History of His Wins and Losses NFL quarterback Tom Brady also recently launched a golf line for his Brady Brand apparel company. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers player previously told PEOPLE that he often turns to the sport for style inspiration. "I see a lot of golfers — Arnold Palmer had great style," he said. "Cary Grant had great style. Paul Newman had style. So many guys had great style. And I think today you see people really prioritizing that," Brady added. "I think now the difference is every day is a style moment because of social media and everyone's got camera phones." RELATED VIDEO: Tiger Woods' Kids, Girlfriend and Mom Join Him for World Golf Hall of Fame Inductio Former NBA star Charles Barkley is also a fan of the sport and told PEOPLE that he's proud of how much he has game has improved over the years. "Man, I've come a long way," the NBA Hall of Famer told PEOPLE last year. "It was very frustrating for me to play golf. It was no fun to play golf. And for the last 20-something years, I was like, 'I'm not going to play golf at all. It was not fun for me.' I would play for charity because charity is the most important thing, but it was no fun for me to play at all."