When great athletes in other sports pick up golf, that competitive fire that helped them reach the top of their games in football, basketball, baseball, etc. usually carries over.

According to his former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos teammate Brandon Stokley, Peyton Manning is no exception.

In retirement, Manning has frequently participated in both celebrity tournaments like the American Century Championship and made-for-TV matches like the second and third editions of “The Match.”

In those appearances, Manning, who carries a 5.5 index out of Cherry Hills Country Club and Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, has proven he’s quite the stick. If Stokely’s characterization of Manning’s game, which he made to GOLF’s Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode, is correct, then he’s pretty much exactly the player he was when he was quarterbacking the Colts and Broncos.

“Every time we play, you can never count him out of the hole,” Stokley said of the two-time Super Bowl champ and 14-time Pro Bowler. “You know, he’s chipping from a bad lie, or he’s got a 40-footer for par. He always makes one of those puuts. He always chips it from the woods or something when you think he’s done.”

Sounds a lot like the QB who led the Colts to five consecutive fourth-quarter comebacks in 2009 or the one who led an 18-point comeback against the Patriots in the 2006-07 AFC Championship game.

Stokely, who said Manning gives him about three or four strokes when they play these days, said Manning plays with “heart” just like he did on the gridiron.

“Like that’s the mindset you have to have when you’re playing golf with Peyton,” he added.

For more from Stokley, including when he caddied for Manning, check out the full episode of GOLF Subpar below.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.