Basketball: Steven Adams tries his hand at golf

Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams has been giving golf a go while back home in the off-season.

Adams told One News the game didn't come naturally to him as a session on the driving range showed. He admitted he has yet to play a full round.

The 2.13m Oklahoma City Thunder player said his mindset off the tee wasn't too complicated.

"Just smash it, honestly. It's meat-head stuff. You know, who can hit the farthest."

Adams is giving back to basketball through golf, launching the Steven Adams Invitational tournament at Auckland's Windross Farm in September.

He has enlisted the help of celebrities and paying amateurs to raise money for the Pathway to Success trust.

"The main goal of it is to get kids as many scholarships as possible, really, over to the [United] States," Adams told One News.

Adams has so far confirmed Thunder swingman Andre Roberson, former team-mate Victor Oladipo, as well as former All Black Christian Cullen and Black Caps quicks Tim Southee and Trent Boult.