Josh Kelley Meets the ‘Master’ of All Sports Heroes

Josh Kelley and his brother Charles of Lady Antebellum grew up in Augusta, Ga., the home of this week's Masters golf tournament. Coming from an avid golfing family, the siblings attended the Masters nearly every year as they were growing up. In fact, Josh says one of his most memorable moments occurred at the Masters, when he got an acknowledgment from his golfing hero, Fred Couples. The two have since traveled in the same circles as part of the celebrity world, and Josh was thrilled when he had a chance to tell Fred just how much he meant to him when he was a kid.

"My older brother was a Division One college golfer, and I was too ... we all played," Josh tells The Boot. "I always went to the Masters every year. My favorite golfer has always been Fred Couples. The year he won the Masters, it was '92, I think, he was walking from the 17th green to the 18th tee, and he gave me a high-five! It's still one of the coolest memories of my entire life!"

Fast-forward to a few years later, when Josh found himself face-to-face with his hero on board a private jet heading for a celebrity golf tournament. He couldn't resist the opportunity to tell Fred just how much that moment on the green meant to him.

"Three years ago, I got invited to come play Justin Timberlake's Shriners Hospital for Children's tournament, and we had to meet at this airport. I remember Fred came up to me and said, 'Hey Josh, how are you doing?' I said, 'Dude! You are my hero!' I didn't even know what to say -- I probably looked like the biggest idiot in the world, but I got to hang out with him that night, too. Its actually fun to meet your heroes when they're cool, good people. I told him, I said, 'Look at this hand, look how dirty it is! I've never washed this hand since high-fiving you!" [laughs]

Josh actually made his way through college playing on the golf team, but when he picked up a guitar, he found himself torn between the two for a while. But it isn't hard to guess which pursuit Josh shifted his focus toward, once he figured out how much girls love guys with guitars.

"In college, I wasn't pushing that hard for music at first," he says, "because golf was paying for college for me, so my job was golf. But I never, ever stopped playing music ... I've been playing it every day since I was 11. But when I realized that music was gonna get me hotter chicks, I basically quit showing up for practice!"

Josh's 'Georgia Clay' album is available now.