Justin Timberlake: 'Golf gets me in nature'

Justin Timberlake has revealed that he likes to play golf in order to escape the pressures of his hectic showbiz career.

In an interview with The New York Times, the musician and actor confessed that he enjoys "getting out in nature" with his friends and family to play the sport, which he finds relaxing.

"I don't put that much pressure on myself on the golf course," he explained. "So, I don't feel that. Being an entertainer can be very, very intense. I felt that. To me, golf is getting out in nature with my buddies, or getting to play with my father."

Timberlake went on to say that he became interested in golf after his manager took him to a local course while on tour in order to get him out of his hotel room.

"It might sound silly, but I went out there and had a couple of beers, and all I was thinking about is getting a little ball into a little hole," Timberlake recalled. "It was just the best mental release from performing on stage. It took my mind somewhere else. I haven't stopped chasing that little ball since."

The entertainer's representative was recently forced to issue a statement insisting that Timberlake is single and not dating after he was linked to Ashley Olsen and Tron: Legacy actress Olivia Wilde.