Blake Griffin’s career as a basketball player is over, but his time as a celebrity golfer is just beginning. And the man known for his incredible dunks, is once again jumping in pretty ferociously.

The six-time NBA All-Star will once again tee it up inside the ropes this week at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, the LPGA season-opener that has also become a jewel of the celebrity golf circuit in recent years.

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“ I always kind of said, you know, when that time came, I’m just gonna try to retire as gracefully as possible,” the 35-year-old Griffin told Golf Digest on The Loop podcast. “It’s been great, man . . . kind of a whole new world has opened up.”

Of course, that new world has provided some challenges. Griffin finished near the bottom of the leaderboard in his debut at the Amercian Century Championship last July and in Novemember, he and Nate Bargatze were bounced pretty quickly from TNT Sports’ The Match: Superstars. For the latter, however, Griffin had a decent excuse.

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“ I blame Charles Barkley and Wayne Gretzky because like trying to keep up with them at the bar every night was very detrimental,” Griffin said with a laugh.

Still, it’s been a solid run for Griffin, who is already down to an 11.4 handicap despite just picking up the game a few years ago. He joined this week’s episode of The Loop podcast to discuss his improving golf game, playing in front of big crowds, his exciting new gig as an NBA analyst for Amazon Prime, and his favorite dunk victim ever.

Plus, the guys talk about a slow-play rant gone viral, a controversial PGA Tour course, and give their Pebble Beach picks. Please have a listen:

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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com