At Lake Merced Golf Club on this mid-August afternoon, the baseball icon is quite content to play the background part while riding in a golf cart. His close friend Barry Bonds, who was formerly a player, is chatting away with a sportswriter on his left. Instead of relaxing, Bonilla leans to the right, wearing sunglasses and a black T-shirt that covers his protruding stomach. Amid the commotion of the celebration, he smokes a cigar with one hand on the cart’s steering wheel. He is aware that neither he nor his famous acquaintance are being seen.

“Observe this,” he remarks, gesturing with his smoke-free hand to the grandeur of the scene.

As the sun dips below the horizon, the Bay Area’s signature 70-something degree temperature—hot enough to feel like California but not oppressive—is beginning to show. Above the perfectly groomed fairways and cypress trees, a few clouds add some texture to the otherwise blue sky. But the weather isn’t the subject of Bonilla’s enthusiastic emphasis. Rather, the imaginative journey his son is taking part in.

Roman Solomon, 17, and Stephen Curry are engaged in a putting contest.

As he surveys the field at Curry’s Underrated Golf Tour, a summer competition that highlights gifted young players and attempts to provide access and possibilities that may not be available to some of them in a typically exclusive sport, Bonilla describes the action as “extraordinary.”

Really, there aren’t enough words to express it. It is a pleasure to witness all of this, these vibrant, youthful faces of color. Although we all care about each other, we fail to recognize this. The incredible things that are occurring are all Steph’s fault. We truly have no words to describe what he is accomplishing.

There’s no denying the obvious: Why is Curry acting in this way?

It is obvious that he adores golf.  He will undoubtedly be hooked to the Ryder Cup this coming weekend. However, nothing is stopping Curry from simply playing, just like the majority of fairway enthusiasts. With nearly anyone he desires, he has access to some of the world’s greatest courses. He has already performed at Cypress Point and Augusta National. He has played with Barack Obama, the former president. Curry will undoubtedly have a plethora of sponsorship exemptions to play in professional competitions when he hangs up his sneakers, if not go on a tour.

What makes him decide to adopt the exclusive golf tradition, then? Why is he helping foreigners create a more welcoming environment for the next generation by volunteering as a joyful pied piper?As Curry places his iPhones on a circular table and sits down in the Lake Merced Golf Club clubhouse, the question becomes more audible. Against a white tablecloth, their scrapes, chips, and cracks are readily noticeable. Why he couldn’t care less about the phones at that point is evident in his eyes. Curry loses.

Slumping in his chair and taking a time to himself on the concluding day of his golf tour—11 rounds of match-play golf spread over five courses in two months—it is evident all over his face.

When asked about his level of weariness, he stays silent. Just raises his eyes abruptly and says, “You have no idea,” with a gaze that hardly moves his head. He twirls a phone till it comes to rest under his lingering gaze. Shortly after, he receives another summons. Curry flashes another look, a grin on his face this time.

He says, “Mind over matter,” as he rises from the table and heads out to greet more people, shake hands with them, and get set up for interviews.

The reason behind his actions is quite straightforward. For he is a lifetime golf fanatic who happens to be even better at basketball, this is going to be, in one way or another, his new career. During the summer, Curry’s transformation of the American Century Championship competition into a viral event offered a peek of things to come. Due to the Warriors’ earlier-than-usual postseason departure in May, Curry had more time to improve his game before the ACC. And he emerged victorious.

With golf as his main athletic focus, how good can he be? His winning birdie putt was merely an announcement that we will discover.