You’ve seen it. Even if you aren't a sports fan, you've definitely seen that clip of a sweaty, manic Robin Williams in a black button-down shirt, pacing a stage and screaming in a thick Scottish accent. He’s describing a game where you "whack a ball with a crooked stick" and try to put it into a "gopher hole" hundreds of yards away. It is, quite arguably, the most famous five minutes of comedy in the history of the sport.
But where did the Robin Williams history of golf bit actually come from?
Most people just share the YouTube clip without realizing it wasn't a one-off joke. It was a centerpiece of his massive "Live on Broadway" special in 2002. This wasn't just a comedian making fun of a boring game. It was a masterclass in observational absurdity that basically redefined how we look at the "gentleman’s game."
The Night Broadway Met the Back Nine
The year was 2002. Robin Williams hadn't done a full-scale stand-up tour in about 16 years. He was already an Oscar winner by then, a movie star who didn't need to be sweating under stage lights at the Broadway Theatre in New York. But he came back with a vengeance.
The "history of golf" bit is technically part of a longer segment titled "Drinking with Scotsmen." In the middle of a frantic set covering everything from the Olympics to Koko the Gorilla, Robin pivots. He starts talking about the Scots. He mentions their inventions—whiskey, primarily—and then connects the dots.
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"Here's my idea for a sport," he growls, channeling a drunken Scotsman. "I knock a ball into a gopher hole."
The genius of the bit isn't just the voice. It’s the logic. He breaks down the inherent masochism of golf in a way that resonates because, honestly, the sport makes no sense when you step back and look at it. He mocks the idea of "stuff in the way"—the trees, the bushes, the "high grass" where you lose your ball and end up "whacking away with a tire iron."
Why the "Stroke" Joke Landed So Hard
One of the most quoted lines in the Robin Williams history of golf routine is the origin of the word "stroke."
"Each time you miss, you feel like you're going to have a stroke! That's what we'll call it, a stroke, 'cause every time you miss you feel like you're going to die!"
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It’s a perfect linguistic pun. But it also taps into the genuine frustration of every weekend warrior on the links. Golf is the only sport where the objective is to play as little of it as possible. The fewer times you hit the ball, the better you are. Robin leaned into that irony.
He describes the "flat bit with a little flag to give you hope," only to have that hope snatched away by a "pool and a sandbox." It’s a brutal, hilarious summary of course architecture.
Did he actually like golf?
Interestingly, while he spent five minutes tearing the sport a new one, Robin Williams wasn't a hater. He lived in Tiburon and San Francisco, areas surrounded by world-class courses. While he wasn't a "golf nut" in the way some celebrities are, he was known to show up at charity tournaments.
There's a separate "Robin Williams" in the golf world, too—a professional golfer named Robin Tiger Williams. People often get them confused in search results, but the comedian’s connection to the sport remained almost entirely theatrical. For him, golf was a comedic goldmine because of its rigid rules and the quiet, polite atmosphere that he loved to shatter with his kinetic energy.
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The Legacy of the Scottish Accent
A lot of people think Robin was just "doing a voice," but his Scottish accent was actually quite nuanced. He had spent time in Scotland and was close friends with Billy Connolly, the legendary Scottish comedian. Some fans even argue that Connolly influenced the bit, or that they riffed on similar themes together over the years.
There’s a rawness to the Broadway performance. If you watch the unedited version, it’s peppered with profanity and physical comedy that a transcript can't capture. He’s not just talking; he’s acting out the frustration of a man losing his mind in a sand trap.
How to Watch the Full Routine Today
If you’re looking for the definitive version of the Robin Williams history of golf, don't just settle for the 240p grainy clips on social media.
- HBO Max (Max): The "Live on Broadway" special is frequently available on the platform. It's the best way to see the bit in its original context.
- Official YouTube Channel: The Robin Williams estate has an official channel that has uploaded a high-definition version of the "Invention of Golf" segment.
- Vinyl and CD: The album Live on Broadway won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 2003. Listening to it without the visuals actually lets you appreciate the pacing of the jokes even more.
The bit works because it's timeless. As long as people are still paying hundreds of dollars to dress like "pimps" (as Robin put it) and chase a tiny ball into a hole, his "history" will remain the most accurate description of the sport ever recorded.
Next Steps for the Ultimate Fan
If you want to dive deeper into the comedy of this era, go back and watch Robin Williams’ earlier HBO specials like Off the Wall (1978) or An Evening with Robin Williams (1982). You can see the evolution of his character work—the seeds of the "angry Scotsman" were planted long before he ever set foot on that Broadway stage in 2002.