John Smoltz, at 56, still has that competitive drive

The former Braves star and Baseball Hall of Famer is driven to compete, even almost two decades after retiring from MLB

It's a windy day when we're talking to Atlanta Braves legend and MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz. He's at the Lake Nona Country Club, sitting outside on the patio, and we can hear the wind whistling across the line. 

And that's perfectly fine with Smoltz, because he's already thinking about how it'll help him on the course. "I want Mother Nature to bring everything she has. I want it to be tough, blowing. I want it to be nasty because then I feel like that levels the playing field for me. [...] So I'm looking for all kinds of hats on and freezing. I'm loving it."

John's in Orlando for a golf tournament, the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Starting on Thursday, it's two simultaneous fields - a sanctioned LPGA event and a celebrity field, both competing for their own prize money. 

The event's supporting Annika Sörenstam's ANNIKA Foundation, established by the retired LPGA star to provide opportunities in women's golf at the junior, collegiate, and professional levels, all the while using the game to encourage healthy habits and active lifestyles in children. 

And the competition, on both sides of the bracket, is intense. 

"It's a loaded field", admits John, not afraid to name names. "Mardy Fish. He's elite. Mark Mulder. You've got newcomers now. Jeff McNeil, who's fantastic. Aaron Hicks hits it 350 yards off the tee. Derek Lowe." 

But there's one person that Smoltz says you can't underestimate, because of home field advantage.

"Let's not forget about the greatest of all time: Annika. It's her home course. She's competing, and she's always in the mix." 

John admits to scoreboard watching when he's in this event, because he knows they'll be in the mix all weekend. "When I don't see those names on the scoreboard, I feel like something's crazy happening." 

It's the end of a long stretch of golf this winter for Smoltz, who spent pretty much the entire month after the World Series on the golf course as he went through qualifying rounds for the Champions Tour. "I played 31 times out of 33 days after the World Series was over [...]. Went through eleven straight days and got through the first stage." 

(Smoltz made it all the way to the final stage of qualifying, competing at TPC Scottsdale in early December for one of only five Champions Tour cards. He finished at twenty-two under, in 73rd place.)

It's a grind, and the 56 year-old Smoltz admitted he was completely and utterly spent when he finally reached Scottsdale. "I was gassed when I got there. I'll be honest. I wish I could have taken some time off, but I didn't know I was going to get there."

But despite the finish, which Smoltz called "humbling", it was worth the work, he admitted. "I really do it to learn. [...] I don't know how many more times I'll probably try, if ever again. But it did teach me a lot about my game and what I need to work on." 

"I was honored to be part of it. And I learned a lot. I'm a guy that learns through failure. And I'm motivated by that."

Smoltz's day job keeps him away from being able to put in the sort of time that many of his competitors did during the process, a factor which he said probably wouldn't have changed were he to have received his card. 

"If a miracle were to happen and I would have got my card, it's not much I can do to change my lifestyle. I'm a broadcaster. That's my job. And so I fit in golf when I can."

But with his current job, Smoltz has had a lot of time playing what he called "casual golf". Injuries had limited what he could do after retiring from baseball - "I loved competing when I was putting on a Braves uniform for 21 years. I then competed 10 years in high level basketball until my hips gave out." - but now that he's had double hip replacement and can get back to intentional training, he's got another goal in mind.  

Shooting his age. 

"I want to start shooting my age when it's 65. I got nine more years to shoot my age and see how many years I can do that."

And in the meantime, there's competitions like this. Celebrity opponents, some of which are twenty years younger and have the physical advantage. 

"I mean, there's some people that just (drive it) 50 yards by me, and I was never short."

But Smoltz is going to give it his all, because that's all he knows how to do. 

"I still think that I can compete on a daily basis." 

The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions is this Thursday through Sunday at the Lake Nona Country Club in Orlando, Florida, supporting the ANNIKA Foundation. Spectator tickets are available, and television coverage is available on the Golf Channel (all four days) and NBC (Saturday and Sunday.) 

For the full conversation with Smoltz, check out the Braves Today Youtube channel. 

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