Jase Robertson, left, and Justin Martin, right, both with Duck Dynasty, and Bubba Watson watch a ball hit by Jim Justice during The Greenbrier Classic Pro-Am Wednesday afternoon at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Could The Greenbrier add another celebrity to its growing list of residents?
If first impressions matter, Jase Robertson may soon join the likes of Bubba Watson, Jerry West, John Smoltz and Denny Hamlin in building a home among the West Virginia hills.
“I’m taking this all in,” said the star of A&E’s Duck Dynasty, while waiting on the first tee of the Old White TPC prior to playing in Wednesday’s Greenbrier Classic Pro-Am. “It’s pretty amazing. I’ve been here 5 minutes, and I could live here. I love it.”
Robertson joined the Pro-Am field, which also included Hamlin and George Lopez, thanks to some urging from Greenbrier owner Jim Justice, who played in the group with Robertson, and a friendship with Greenbrier resident and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson.
Robertson said he first met Watson on Twitter, and the world’s third-ranked golfer soon came to visit the Robertson family in Lousiana.
Robertson, who was coming back from a trip on the day Watson arrived, got off a plane and drove to the Duck Commander warehouse, where the family made its fortune by producing duck calls, and found the golfer organizing a “Harlem Shake” video with the company’s employees.
“I guess he felt right at home,” said Robertson with a laugh. “He stayed a couple of days and we had lots of fun. We got to be good friends.
“He’s got a house here now, so he asked us to come up and hang out. I did an event in West Virginia last year, and I loved the people. So any opportunity we get to come be with the people, we’re going to do it — especially with this scenery and this weather. People say it’s hot. This is almost cold where I come from. It’s awesome.”
Joining Watson, Justice and Robertson for a trip around the Old White TPC Wednesday was Justin Martin, another of the reality show’s recurring cast, an employee of Duck Commander who is often teased for his size. He replaced the company’s CEO, Willie Robertson, who had to back out because of an injury.
“Willie tried to pour boiling water in a glass pitcher,” said Jase, explaining the absence of his brother, who has guaranteed he’ll make the trip next year. “He said, ’As soon as the water hit the pitcher, I thought I shouldn’t be doing this. Then it went boom.’ It was actually pretty severe.
“We cooked him supper to try to make him feel better. It was terrible. He was burnt severely. He has to go to the doctor every day and scrape wounds. It was pretty tough.”
Jase took the course with a new camouflage driver that somebody had sent to Willie, and he played what Justice said was “surprisingly good” golf.
