Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley Was Once a Champion Ski Racer

Most of us here at POWDER opt for summer sports that don’t include whacking a white ball with a club into a hole, but we’re not in the business of yucking yums.

As it turns out, one of golf’s most beloved professional athletes was once a champion ski racer himself.

Keegan Bradley is a 39-year-old professional golfer from Woodstock, Vermont. He’ll captain Team USA in the Ryder Cup this upcoming weekend, a biannual team golf tournament that pits the best American golfers against Europe’s best.

Bradley remembers a “fear of failing” in golf, due to growing up in Vermont. Their golf season is short, and he was forced to make the most of every opportunity to play, practice, and learn about the game of golf. There was no time to waste once the snow melted.

When Bradley wasn’t able to golf, as it turns out, he was skiing on Woodstock’s local ski area, Saskadena Six (formerly known as Suicide Six), and winning races across the sate of Vermont. You can read more about Saskadena Six later on in this article.

Bradley spoke with the PGA Tour back in 2015 about Woodstock and ski racing in the short video below. Tap or click to play.

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Kaye Bradley, Keegan’s mother, says in the video above, “he was as much a ski racer as he was a golfer at the time. He was one of the top ski racers in the state of Vermont in his heyday.”

Mothers are known to exaggerate their children’s abilities, but Keegan Bradley was legitimately a ski racer, and a fast one at that.

Bradley recently sat down with Golf.com for a longer story about his career and the upcoming Ryder Cup. In writing the story, Golf.com writer Dylan Dethier revealed some of Bradley’s ski accolades.

One news clipping from The Valley News celebrated Bradley winning his “third victory in five races” in the boys slalom. Another, from the 2003 Vermont State Championships, notes Bradley’s third place finish in Giant Slalom.

Bradley’s ski coach is quoted saying that he bested many “northern boys” who practiced more frequently ahead of the competition.

Bradley eventually leaned into golf and left skiing behind once scholarship offers started rolling in. Whacking a white ball into a hole is far more lucrative than racing at 60mph downhill, apparently.

Keegan Bradley and Team USA will take on Team Europe in the Ryder Cup from Fri, Sep 26, 2025 – Sun, Sep 28, 2025. Keep reading for more on Saskadena Six, Keegan Bradley’s home mountain.

More on Saskadena Six Ski Area, Keegan Bradley’s Home Mountain

Saskadena Six is a historic ski area. After installing its first rope tow in 1936, a former Dartmouth ski instructor said it would be “suicide” to ski one of the hill’s steep pitches. Thus, the ski area was named ‘Suicide Six’ until the summer of 2022.

Suicide Six is now called Saskadena Six. Saskadena means “standing mountain” in the Abenaki language.

Saskadena Six Stats/Info

• Vertical: 650 ft.
• Skiable Terrain: N/A
• Average Snowfall: N/A
• Lifts: 2
• Trails: 28
• Snowmaking: YES
• Night Skiing: NO
• Pass: Indy Pass

Related: Daron Rahlves on His ‘Banzai’ Ski Race Returning After a 10-Year Hiatus