Wayne Gretzky Goes Barefoot on the Golf Course While Playing a Round With Travis Kelce
Wayne Gretzky, Travis Kelce. Getty Images(2)
Wayne Gretzky stepped out to play a round of golf with Travis Kelce this weekend – but he was missing one key component of his outfit.

In a Father’s Day tribute posted via Instagram on Sunday, June 16, by his daughter, Paulina Gretzky, the NHL icon, 63, can be seen posing on the golf course next to Paulina’s husband, Dustin Johnson, and Kelce, 34, in Nashville. The trio was dressed in traditional golf clothes – including shorts, polo shirts and hats – however, Wayne opted out of wearing shoes, appearing barefoot in the photo.

While his lack of footwear was noticeable, fans had positive reactions to the Great One forgoing standard golf shoes in the comment section of the post.

“Wayne the barefoot golfer!!” wrote one social media user, while another added, “Wayne barefooted is elite.”

Though most opt to wear shoes while playing, it’s not totally unheard of for some golfers to play shoeless. PGA Tour pro Joseph Bramlett, who suffered a back injury in 2013, explained how golfing barefoot helped him rehab his injury and improve his swing.

Wayne Gretzky Goes Barefoot on the Golf Course While Playing a Round With Travis Kelce
Courtesy of Paula Gretzky/Instagram
“The reason hitting the ball barefoot has been really helpful for me is with my old swing patterns,” Bramlett, 36, said in a video via X in 2019. “If I were to swing with shoes on, I would jump off the ground, my foot would get up, I’d land on my ankle and it would hurt really bad.”

Wayne Gretzky Goes Barefoot on the Golf Course While Playing a Round With Travis Kelce
Courtesy of Paula Gretzky/Instagram
He added, “So because I don’t have the support without shoes on, it forces me to feel the ground between my feet and my toes and really grip the ground on my downswing, which in turn, slows my hip turn and gets the clubs and arms working more in sync, putting less stress on my lower back.”

Even though the four-time Stanley Cup champion skipped wearing shoes for the Father’s Day golf outing, one look through his Instagram profile will show fans that he typically opts for golf shoes while playing (so perhaps he just took his golf shoes off at the end of the round). Earlier this month, he posed at the Grove golf course with fellow hockey legends Mark Messier and Brian Leetch, wearing a pair of bright white sneakers.

Wayne’s daughter Paulina, 35, is the eldest of his five children with wife Janet Jones, whom he wed in 1988. Together they also share sons Ty Gretzky, 33, Trevor Gretzky, 31, Tristan Gretzky, 23, and daughter Emma Gretzky, 21.