Golf365 interview with KK Downing

By Matt Cooper and Dave Tindall Last updated: 3rd November 2009

"Alright dudes," says KK Downing as he opens the door to us at his home at Astbury Hall in Shropshire.

"Welcome to the coolest, hippest golf course in the world!"

KK then leads us through to his kitchen and over a cup of tea (KK has water) we chat about how he mixes life on the road in a heavy metal band with his love of golf.

Golf365: Hi KK, thanks for inviting us. Is it true Def Leppard got you into golf?

KK Downing: Yeah kind of, they challenged us to a game of golf and we challenged them to tennis. That sort of got us back into golf, because I'd played before but after that we started playing on tour a lot. It made sense because we had the time. We'd get in a cab, me and Glenn (Tipton - fellow Judas Priest guitarist), didn't know where we were going, didn't care, we'd just ask the driver which was the best course in the area, he'd take us and we'd end up playing some great courses. One time we were in Denver and asked for the top course, ended up at Arrowhead. The memories of that course and to think I played there - it was a special place.

Golf365: You've been on tour in the States this summer - did you get to play much?

KK Downing: Only twice - we played Harding Park and then in Florida. They were getting Harding Park ready for the Presidents Cup, putting the bleachers up behind the greens. It was nice but not specced up for a tournament then though. The greens were good but it's a public course and has a lot of traffic so they were full of pitch marks. It was like a leopard skin. You could tell it would scrub up nicely though.

Golf365: What have been the best courses you've played in the States then?

KK Downing: I think maybe Jack Nicklaus' Desert Highlands resort in Arizona. That was, like, wow! It was the first time I saw round tees as well which blew me away. But then I just love Arizona for golf. I've played plenty of other great places: Doral, LaCosta, Torrey Pines, Cherry Hills ...

Golf365: Pebble Beach?

KK Downing: No, never played Pebble Beach. Royal Quebec, Cog Hill. I tell you, for years that was the best I had played. It was like: "How come no one talks about Cog Hill?" This summer we stayed at Las Colinas where they play the Byron Nelson but I didn't get to play it. I've played there before. We always stay there actually, played there when Alice Cooper opened for us. I lived in Hawaii for a while and I played all the courses there including Waialae and Kapalua; I love Hawaiian golf. But even some of the no-name courses are great. You know, up in the north - Dakota, Idaho, getting up into those Canadian pines. The drama is fantastic. I reckon you can never build enough drama into a golf course.

Golf365: How do you find the differences between the US and British golf?

KK Downing: Golf is much more welcoming in the States and I think that's where I got it from, my vision for this place. But then, whenever you are an entertainer in the States they love it. Over here they worry a bit about your reputation.

Golf365: Tell us about your early experiences of playing golf in the UK.

KK Downing: Well, golf's moved on a long way since I first thought about it. Coming from the Black Country, I know that it used to be a sport for people of a certain class. It wasn't that working class people didn't want to play because you'd see them knocking a ball around in the park. But where could they play? It reminds me of the way things are in Japan now. I don't know what the stats are but I've played there and I've felt guilty playing - yeah, guilty! It's something like 9 out of 10 Japanese golfers won't get to see a course!

Golf365: Is it a bit obvious to say that golf offers you a bit of calm after the adrenalin rush of being on stage?

KK Downing: Well, that is true, but, you know, it didn't take me that long to realise that I just like to be around golf and golf courses. I love it: playing a different course, the challenge of it, the atmosphere. It's almost like I'm about to go on stage, putting my stage clothes on and all I'm thinking about is a golf course!

Golf365: That's interesting. Some golfers talk about having a real self and a performer self and clothes prompt the change - did you have something like that on and off stage?

KK Downing: Earlier on when we had the image, yeah. Our uniform was unique. It gives you a sense of, dare I say, power; like a finely tuned military unit. I'm really proud of my band mates and how I feel before going on stage. We're all lined up there, knowing we are the one and only Judas Priest. I think that makes us tighter than some other bands.

Golf365: Are there other bands who like golf and you've played with? Alice Cooper maybe?

KK Downing: I haven't played with Alice, but Glenn played with him at Las Colinas. They like to play early in the morning though and I don't. Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden likes the game and I saw that Justin Timberlake on TV the other day - he looks a good player. And I tell you what, when Def Leppard played the NEC one time they asked me backstage and they said come and meet a friend of ours. They introduced me to Mark Roe. I thought, "No wonder you guys kicked our ass - you've got your own touring pro!" He was a nice guy and asked me to walk a practice round with him at the Belfry. It rained though and we played snooker all day!

Golf365: When did you play your best golf?

KK Downing: When Sports Illustrated did that piece in 1986 I had a deadly swing from 5-iron down but it wouldn't work with the longer sticks.

Golf365: Do you watch much golf?

KK Downing: Oh yeah, course I do.

Golf365: Ever have a bet?

KK Downing: Nah ... well, do you know, no word of a lie, I was going to back Tom Watson at the Open this year? He plays the Open well every year, but Turnberry? He loves that course, man!

Golf365: Going back to your music career, you lost your first job working in a kitchen because you went to see Jimi Hendrix at - oddly given it came to be associated with golf - Woburn. How did that happen?

KK Downing: Yeah the plan was to spend 10 days going to the Woburn festival to see Hendrix, but I ended up hitchhiking around Europe and got back six weeks later. All my stuff was in plastic bags and my Hendrix posters were ripped up - they'd be worth a fortune now! It was a pity I got fired because I loved the job. I did catering college and worked at the Lyttelton Arms in Hagley. Two of the lads I was at college with went on to work at the Savoy and Quaglino's so perhaps I'd have become a celebrity chef! And perhaps I'd have some of Jamie Oliver's money!

Golf365: Did you do cooking and music at school then?

KK Downing: I was a bit of a delinquent at school so they stopped my music lessons and increased my metal work and religious instruction of all things. I hated all that. But that's how I got into cooking, well domestic science they called it.

Golf365: It does seem that you don't do anything half-baked - the cooking, the music, now the golf course.

KK Downing: I'm a scorpio. Nothing is ever good enough, or clean enough, or whatever. I'm a bit of a perfectionist.

Golf365: Just looking out on the golf course - it's not a pitch and putt. You've really committed to it.

KK Downing: I don't want to be an also-ran, producing what other courses do. I want it to be a good test of golf and I want people to enjoy this place. I've been lucky and I've seen the best courses in the world. I've learned from that.

Golf365: What's your vision for the course?KK Downing: I think about it a lot. This is a great spot - if it was in Ascot it would be worth a zillion more but it's got no pylons, no traffic, no flight paths and the wildlife is great. I think if you present a course that deserves and demands respect, I think people won't need policing. It's not going to be cheap to play here but I don't want committees - I don't understand them. But we need revenue because if green-keepers don't get what they want, you just can't maintain the course. The cost of running courses is immense! I reckon 9 out of 10 golfers are happy to have a good time with their mates, have a laugh. But they don't understand what it takes to produce a well-presented, well-cared for course. They accept a course for what it is. That's fair enough sometimes but it can be worth asking questions like: is there subsidence on the tee? Or badly irrigated fairways? Or are the greens push up or USGA spec? Or is it builder's sand in the bunkers? If they bought a second hand car they'd ask those sort of questions, but don't bother with their golf.

Golf365: Having seen so many great holes have you tried to recreate any?

KK Downing: It's expensive to do, man! And remember - there are golf holes that I rate but other golfers would, well, vomit over! There's a hole at Bonaventure in Florida I like. I kid you and I kid you not: it's a par-three and all you see is a waterfall with the green sat on top. Do you know what I mean? I'm on the tee and I'm thinking - am I really looking at this? Incredible. Some golfers would hate that. Some architects wouldn't like it either. And if you play Mauna Lani on Hawaii - wow! It's just fairway, black lava rock and pools. How dramatic is that? I duck-hooked one into the rock and it was banging around for ages like one of those games you play on a fairground. Can't replicate that here, but I think I've done all right.

Golf365: That's great, KK - thanks for talking to us and best of luck with the second nine!

Matt Cooper and Dave Tindall