Who has the better golf swing: Dre Kirkpatrick or Vontaze Burfict?

A surprising amount of NFL athletes take up the hobby of golfing when they’re not practicing or spending time on the football field. Many current and former Bengals have flaunted their swings on social media from time to time. But when Dre Kirkpatrick posted a video at the driving range, teammate Vontaze Burfict couldn’t help but stir up some controversy.

I’m by no means a professional golfer, let alone a good golfer, but as someone who has spent quite a bit of time on the range (and course), here’s my take:

For a guy who does not play golf professionally and, assuming he hasn’t been playing for very long (seeing as though it’s the first golf video I believe I’ve seen on Kirkpatrick’s timeline), the cornerback has a really nice swing. People on social media had mixed reactions, but judging how straight the shot appeared to go and how much control there was in his swing, I’ll give Dre a solid seven out of 10.

Burfict, however, was much more critical.

I get where he’s coming from, but I think Burfict is wrong here. It looks more like Kirkpatrick is using too short of a club than anything. When you use a club that’s too short, your swing is bound to look a little different.

Tez didn’t just stop there, though. An avid golfer, the linebacker took to Instagram to show off his swing and put his teammate in his place:

As with Kirkpatrick’s video, Burfict’s got mixed reviews, with friends even making the same criticisms Burfict made towards his teammate. Former teammate Andrew Hawkins chimed in on the linebacker’s swing, saying, "Boy gettin nice!!" Many fans did the same. Others predictably talked trash and offered to give him some lessons.

My take: Burfict just whacked that ball into another ZIP code. Easy nine out of 10 for me, and I don’t give out that grade lightly. Great form, a ton of power and the shot went straight as an arrow. I don’t think he’s wrong in saying that went 275+ yards, either.

That said, I’m challenging Tez right now to a driving contest. We’re both in Los Angeles, Burfict finally unblocked me on Twitter, so here we are. 26-year-old professional football player against 21-year-old sports blogger. Battle of two titans.

This could either go really well or really poorly. Best case scenario, I beat Tez and we become best friends in the process. Worst case scenario, Tez doesn’t respond to my challenge. Other worst case scenario, I shank the drive and lose to Tez in embarrassing fashion (something that happens far too often when I’m driving for distance).

Either way, if he responds, I’m going to try and make something great out of it. Clock is ticking, Vontaze.

Also, a quick shoutout to this girl — you’d hate to be in this situation — someone who works at the driving range Kirkpatrick went to and had the day off on the one day he decided to visit her place of employment.

Finally, back to the poll. Kirkpatrick and Burfict both had good swings, but whose was better? I’ve made my opinion clear, but now it’s up to you guys — the fans — to decide who won.