Grammy-winning music artist Darius Rucker might have a new excuse to come to Delaware more often.
The frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish hit the links at Rock Manor Golf Course in Wilmington on Thursday, before gigging at The Met Philadelphia later that night.
He was with his drummer Jeff Marino.
Rock Manor superintendent Mike Fagan and assistant superintendent Marc Foster joined Rucker and Marino on the green Thursday, cruising beside the entertainers in a separate golf cart.
“They were just amazed at how great the condition it was in during this time of year, and they were saying they’d love to get back here and play the golf course in season,” Foster said, adding this was the musicians first time visiting the course.
The four of them (who are in a group photo here on Facebook) shot the breeze at Rock Manor, playing a friendly round of golf where they didn’t keep score. They made small talk about golf.
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Part of that discussion was about the Wilmington course’s soft grass, compared to crunchy surfaces that golfers experience at courses on the East Coast during harsh winters.
“It’s just surreal. We got a call Wednesday night saying we’re going to play golf with Darius Rucker and his drummer,” Fagan explained. “I didn’t really believe it totally until the tour bus came. Then I’m like, ‘Yeah, I guess he’s here.’ ”
Foster was nervous he’d underperform around the celebs.
“Since we’re working all the time, we don’t get to play. I hope we don’t stink up the joint,” he said with a laugh.
‘Super nice guy’
Foster told his friends about meeting Rucker and Marino, but they didn’t believe him at first. It helped when he shared a photo of him and Fagan posing with the celebs.
“My buddy’s wife … I knew she loved Darius from years ago. And she was like, ‘Please tell me he’s a nice guy. Please don’t ruin it for me,’ ” Foster explained. “He’s a super nice guy.”
The “Wagon Wheel” singer offered both Rock Manor employees tickets to The Met concert, but only Fagan ended up at the show. It’s a good thing he showed up, too, because Marino returned to Fagan the golf club they snuck away from the course that day.
“I met the drummer outside Broad Street to get the putter back,” he said. “They’re totally cool, down to earth people. At the end of the day, [Rucker and Marino] are just normal people that are a little more popular than [most].”
Could’ve had ‘career in golf’
On Wednesday, Rucker’s tour manager called Rock Manor, explaining that the country star was passing through the area and wanted to know if they had some folks who could tee off with him and Marino, said Rob Polillo, manager of the Wilmington golf course.
Rucker, who headlined The Freeman Stage at Bayside in 2012 and the Delaware State Fair in 2017, is known as a golf enthusiast who’s competed multiple times in the popular AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament.
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Even though they didn’t keep score during their friendly golf match on Thursday, Foster said Rucker and his drummer held their own.
Rock Manor is an attractive course because it’s conveniently located off i-95, and because “the course is always in great shape, thanks to the hard work from Marc and Mike, who are responsible for cleaning it,” Polillo said.
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“It’s a challenging golf course, but not so challenging that a novice couldn’t handle it,” he added. But the course is difficult enough that a “heck of a golfer” like Rucker can enjoy it.
Polillo said he would bet against himself if he had to play 18 holes against the country star.
“If wasn’t for his music career, he could’ve had a career in golf for sure.”
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com
