KEVIN BUTLER GETTING HIS KICKS
Whenever the Chicago weather permits, which isn't often after
the NFL season moves into late fall, Kevin Butler, the Bears'
veteran kicker, likes to prepare for home games by playing golf
on Saturday afternoon. "I think about tempo and try to correlate
it to kicking," says Butler. These days Butler has another
reason to mix golf and football. He and former teammate Walter
Payton are partners in Gridiron Group, a new company that will
market a series of golf tournaments revolving around the NFL, as
well as a complete line of NFL-licensed golf products: balls,
divot-repair tools, ball markers, etc., each emblazoned with a
team logo.
Butler, 33, didn't play golf during his days at Georgia, where
he was All-America in 1983 and '84. But he took up the game soon
after discovering that golf was the avocation of choice among
many of his Bear teammates. He picked it up quickly, partly
because the mechanics of kicking are similar to the mechanics of
the swing. He got down to a seven handicap, but has seen it rise
to a 13 in direct correlation with the growth of his family
(Kevin and his wife, Cathy, have two daughters and a son). "I
used to take it seriously," Butler says, "but now it's mainly a
release. Kicking in Chicago, I can't concentrate on much else."
Kicking in Chicago, because of the cold and the wind, is every
bit as tough as, say, keeping the golf ball in play on a
blustery day at Pebble Beach. Yet it's difficult to believe that
Butler could have put up better numbers even if he had been with
a team that has a dome for a home. In 10 seasons he has set 19
team records. As a rookie on the team that pounded New England
46-10 in Super Bowl XX, he scored 144 points, still a rookie
record. Last season he became the first Bear to reach 1,000
career points.
One more record Butler wouldn't mind having is the one shared
by Bill George and Doug Buffone for most seasons with the Bears
(14). "I think I can kick at least five more years," says
Butler, who is under contract through 1996. "But if the Bears
don't want to renew, I'll be kicking at some place that's easier
than Chicago."
To make it easier on Butler, Chicago has turned over kickoff
duties to rookie Todd Sauerbrun, meaning Butler no longer will
be in danger of suffering the injuries he has sustained making
special team tackles.
Nevertheless, as the only member of the '85 title team still
wearing a Bear uniform, Butler knows the kicks won't last
forever. This is where golf comes in. Last week Gridiron Group
displayed its line at the PGA International Golf Show. On the
tournament front, Butler and Payton will run an NFL-sanctioned
event during Super Bowl XXX week in Phoenix. They will use that
event to kick off a series of amateur charity tournaments that
will be held next summer in every league city. "We think there's
great cross-over between NFL fans and golf fans," Butler said.
But it's not crossovers but the crossbar that is foremost in
Butler's mind during his Saturday rounds. "When I'm on the
course," Butler says, "people will congratulate me on a good
game. Otherwise, nobody bothers me. I'm sure that'll change,
though, if I mess up."
--W.F.R.
COLOR PHOTO: JOE PICCIOLO The Bears' placekicker is puttering around with a second career in golf. [Kevin Butler with golf club and golf balls]
