BYU QB puts clubs away to focus on his other love

You know football is here when you line up a putt and simply can't focus hard enough on golf to see the line to the cup.

That's what Max Hall encountered this week as he prepared for Saturday's first practice of Cougar football camp. The Oklahoma Sooners kept creeping in his mind. He knew then, it really was time to put his game face on and put the sticks away for another time.

Hall, who was just named one of the 30 college players on the watch list for the Walter Camp Foundation player of the year award, indulged himself this summer, letting his passion for golf bubble up to the surface. He fed the monster a little, threw it a bone.

All his life, Hall has had a love for the game.

"Since I was a little kid I've loved it, but I really didn't get into it big time until this summer," said Hall. "Somewhere down the road, I thought I might get into golf whether in golf course management or design. I did an internship at Spanish Oaks this summer with head pro Aaron Brown. I got to play more than I've played in my life."

But lest someone think Hall just goofed around, he didn't.

Hall made it to early workouts at 6 a.m., lifting weights, running, breaking down film and running informal workouts with his teammates.

"I worked my tail off in football in the morning, and by 1:30 or so, I tried to get in some golf when I could," he said.

His passion included playing in a bevy of tournaments around Utah. It included the Kidney Foundation Charity with head coach Bronco Mendenhall and teammates Andrew Rich and Andrew George back in June at the Salt Lake Country Club.

Hall's scramble foursome won the first-ever John Beck charity tournament at Thanksgiving Point in early July. He fired a 1-over-par 73 in the amateur division of the Brigham City Open at Eagle Mountain and carded a 77 at the Provo Open in early June.

He fired a 73 at Oakridge Country Club in Farmington where Rich's family has a membership, and his even-par 72 at Alpine Country Club was his lowest round of the summer.

"I never broke par, but came close," said Hall. "It was fun, and it was nice to get away. It was kind of a distraction, a time to relax."

At the Beck tournament, he got to hang with his uncle, NCAA Hall of Fame member Danny White, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Utah Blaze head coach.

"I got to talk trash with him about golf, and that was a lot of fun," said Hall.

Using his connections working at a golf course, Hall got some discounts on clubs to fill out his bag. He switched from a Cleveland high bore driver to a Taylormade Tour Burner. He plays Ping G-10 irons, Callaway Steelhead 3 and 5 woods and a Snake Eye Quick Strike utility club, Titleist Vokey wedges and a Scotty Cameron putter.

Not a bad collection.