How Michael Penix Jr. and Kyle Pitts Have Bonded Over Golf

Michael Penix Jr. walked up to the podium inside the Falcons’ media room after training camp practice with a grin.

“Got KP the ball today,” the rookie quarterback said, sliding his water bottle onto the stand. “Gonna be a lot of that.”

The “KP” was tight end Kyle Pitts, one of the central figures in Atlanta’s hopes for a high-powered offense in 2025. Over the past several months, Penix and Pitts have built a connection both on and off the field — one that now includes golf outings, shared drives to games, and long talks away from football.

Building Chemistry on the Course

Pitts, an experienced golfer, has been showing Penix the ropes. The two often head out early in the morning with kicker Younghoe Koo and a few teammates.

“Most of the time we go out early, so it’s just me, him and [kicker Younghoe] Koo, and maybe a couple of other guys, where it’s just us out there and we’re just playing fast and just enjoying the time,” Pitts said. “Just like how you say, not thinking about football.

“So that’s a big thing for us, just hearing the birds chirp and playing music and talking about everything but football.”

For Pitts, the bond is as important as the game. After four seasons and six different quarterbacks — from Matt Ryan to Kirk Cousins — Pitts knows how much a steady connection matters.

Signs of Progress on the Field

That bond already showed late last season. In Week 17 against Washington, Penix found Pitts for a diving touchdown on fourth down, threading the ball between multiple defenders. The Falcons lost in overtime, but the moment hinted at what could come from their partnership.

Pitts, who hasn’t matched his Pro Bowl rookie numbers since 2021, sees the potential.

“Just being younger, I like to just watch older people, so seeing Travis [Kelce] and Patrick [Mahomes], seeing when Matt [Ryan] was here, Matt and Tony [Gonzalez],” Pitts said. “Just all of the great quarterbacks who were successful had a great relationship with their tight end. So, just seeing that and learning from other guys, that’s something I kind of authentically wanted to grow with him, and it’s pretty cool.”

Penix’s Golf Game Takes Shape

Penix only started golfing this year, pushed into it by Pitts, but he has already shown serious potential. Koo said Penix’s left-handed swing can launch drives over 325 yards.

“Honestly, he just started and he’s got something that you can’t teach, which is speed,” Koo said. “He hits the ball farther than anybody I’ve seen. … [his] ceiling is very high.”

Penix admits he struggled at first but has improved quickly. He’s even bought new clubs and joked about needing Adidas to set him up with golf gear. For him, the game is more than competition — it’s another way to grow closer with teammates, especially Pitts.

“I feel like our connection is great, not just what we’ve been doing so far on the field, but off the field as well because of that,” Penix said. “And each and every day, even when we’re golfing, we talk football, too, every now and then. Just talking about different plays, different routes and stuff like that. So I feel like that time away from football, we still kind of in that mindset like, OK, yeah, we out here having fun golfing, but we know what’s the real thing we need to work on and make sure we continue to get better at each and every day and we’ve been doing a great job with it.”

Coaches See the Benefits

Falcons passing game coordinator TJ Yates has joined them on the course and laughed at their skills.

“They’re terrible golfers,” Yates joked. “But Pitts is improving, and Penix can absolutely crush it — just doesn’t know where it’s going. The more they bond away from football, the better it’s going to translate.”

Head coach Raheem Morris sees golf as a healthy outlet for Penix’s competitive drive. He also noticed how much it means that Penix wants to build something deeper with Pitts.

“I didn’t even realize until he got up and he was talking about he threw the ball to [Pitts] the other day to [the media] — and that’s important to him,” Morris said. “And those are things that are really important.”