Finn Russell is on the golf course, his ball nestled in the second cut, a line of trees obscuring his view to the green.
The Scotland and Lions rugby star surveys the scene, shakes his head and breaks into a grin. What follows tells us everything about his approach to the sport he is rather better known for.
“I see a tiny gap, I think I can go for it,” he says. “I know it’s probably not going to happen but I’m going to have a go. That’s the way I am.”
Russell was born 50 miles from St Andrews, the home of golf, and is brother-in-law to Ewen Ferguson, a three-time winner on the DP World Tour.
His day job is to steer teams from set-piece to try-line, rugby’s equivalent of tee to pin. Over a decade he has a built a reputation as one of the world’s most exciting playmakers.
His high-risk high-reward tendencies make him a maverick, but also the best paid player in the Gallagher Premiership, which kicks off on Friday with his Bath team hosting Northampton in a repeat of last season’s final.
To better understand what makes him tick, Russell agreed to be grilled on life away from the field. The tell-tale clues Planet Rugby sought were to be found on the golf course and in his choice of sporting dinner guests.
Loves the creative side of golf
“I’m not a great golfer, I’d say mid-teens (handicap), but when I play I like that creative side, to try to manufacture a shot,” he explains. “In a tough position you have to see a way out of it, create a shot. That appeals to me.
“Take for example a long par four, a really tough one. You can either lay up or go for it. I’m going to go for it.
“The risk-reward is probably not worth it but if it does come off it’s going to be brilliant and everyone is going to think you’re a great golfer, even if you’re 50 over at the time.
“So for me, that one good shot, it’s worth it. A memory for a lifetime!”
Russell says he has played only twice this year, both times with team-mate Will Muir. The first time he was four-over through the first nine and 14-over coming home. The next five and 12 over respectively.
“A few holes wreck it,” admits the 31-year old. “In rugby I’ve got more control of the ball because I’ve done it for longer. In golf, I can see the shot, I just can’t always execute it.
“I’ll try something then I’ll duff it one yard. I’ll try and play as if I’m a scratch golfer, try and shape my shots, put spin on, but half the time it’s luck. There’s always that risk of messing it up.”
He has had those moments on a rugby field too, but not for a while now. Scotland have won their last four matches against England, lost only once to the auld enemy in seven and roamed unbeaten at Twickenham since 2017.
Domestically, Bath’s million pound (a season) man took his underachieving club to the Grand Final last season and, despite playing a man down for almost all the game, came within a whisker of beating Northampton.
Russell is now father to two daughters and that responsibility, allied to the expectation which comes with his senior leadership position at Bath, has mellowed him in some respects.
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But ask him for the sporting company he would most like to keep and the twinkle returns to his eye.
“Usain Bolt,” he says, without hesitation. “The greatest ever, yes, but he has a good character to go with it. That counts for me.
‘You’ve got to have a bit of personality’
“If you’re dead boring, yeah you can be fast, but no-one’s going to want to talk to you just because of that. You’ve got to have a bit of personality. Like Noah Lyles. He talked the talk then won the Olympic 100m.
“Who else? Andy Murray. I don’t know him that well, though my dad used to play badminton with his mum. Obviously, Andy is a great player and he also makes me laugh off the court. He doesn’t even like tennis now, he says!
“One more would be Tiger Woods. Because he’s come back from a lot. I’ve been in tough positions before in rugby but Tiger.. fair play!”
Reflecting on how far he has come in his sporting career reminds Russell of another golfing episode in his life.
It took place in Scotland back in 2011 while the Rugby World Cup was going on in his absence down in New Zealand.
Russell was then an apprentice stone mason and was working on one of the big houses overlooking the Queen’s course at Gleneagles.
“I used to go into this bush over the back wall and find loads of golf balls and bring them home,” he says.
The next time he was at Gleneagles was to play the Queen’s course. “I walked by that same house and that same bush and I was thinking how different my life is.”
All of which might give the impression Russell would be satisfied were his career to end tomorrow. That is not the case.
One club trophy, with Glasgow in 2015, is not enough. Nor are his two Lions experiences – one as a temporary stand-in in New Zealand, the other played out in empty stadiums in South Africa four years ago.
“It’s a big ambition to play a Lions tour in front of fans,” he says. “Having done 10 days in 2017 then 2021 in Covid year, it’s made me desperate to get on the next tour for the full Lions experience.
“As for Bath, losing the final was disappointing but doing so well with 14 men gives us a springboard into this season. When we came off it didn’t really feel like we had lost.
“That has given us a good starting point for this season. We’ve come back in with the right mindset. Mentally we are in a good place, hungry for it all to start.”
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