There is no shortage of people who’ll sing the praises of golf, but Jackson Wetherbee arguably is the one you’d get the most pleasure listening to. Not because he plays the game beautifully; he doesn’t. Nor because he embraces a profound Top 100 “have played” list; not yet anyway.

No, you’d want to listen to Jackson Wetherbee (right) sing the praises of golf because the young man who was born in Georgia but has deep ties to Kingston, Duxbury, and Marshfield, has a captivating voice that is rich and resonates with warmth.

Photo courtesy of Jackson Wetherbee. Jackson Wetherbee.

As Dave Shiffman – a writer who covers the progressive Reggae community for rootfire.net – once wrote, “Wetherbee’s award-worthy voice would improve any song.”

Specifically, Shiffman was writing about the collaboration between Wetherbee and a North Carolina-based group called Signal Fire. But should you prefer a more provincial embrace of Wetherbee, direct your attention to The Elovaters, a wildly popular and fast-rising Reggae band from the South Shore that can easily get your kick your festive meter into fast-forward mode.

The band is set to release its third full-length album (“Castles” comes out August 13) and with COVID restrictions relaxed nearly everywhere in the United States, Wetherbee and his bandmates – Nick Asta, drummer; Johnny Alves, guitar; Greg Nectow, keyboards; Derrick Cabral, percussion; and Matt Link, bass – are embarking upon a serious travel schedule. From Nebraska to Colorado to Texas to California to Missouri to Ohio to Florida, there are gigs scheduled all the way up to early November when they visit Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for the Cali Roots Baja Session.

Not that they won’t fit in a local appearance, because they will play at the Marshfield Fairgrounds August 8.

Seriously big-league exposure for young men with strong South Shore allegiances – “Live By The Day,” their hit song from their album “Defy Gravity,” was No. 1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart a few years ago.

But what sounds like a playful endeavor to those of us outside the music world is arduous work and while Wetherbee wouldn’t think of doing anything else, he concedes that he needs an escape from the songwriting, the concerts, the grueling studio sessions, the overnight bus trips.

A golf course provides such a sanctuary but should you cross paths with Wetherbee and have your music playing, he might ask you to turn it off. “I hate music on a golf course,” he laughed. “I like to listen to birds.”

His rationale has merit. Wetherbee considers himself very competitive (his sport growing up was lacrosse) and “the reason I love golf is because you can battle yourself every time you play; you always have an opponent, the golf course you’re on.”

To properly devote himself to playing golf, Wetherbee loves peace and quiet and to focus. He even accepts the edicts about loose clothing.

“I kind of like the (conformity) of the clothing rules at golf courses,” said Wetherbee, who is quick to add that he’s still most at home where regular people play the game – Southers Marsh in Plymouth or Sandbaggers Range in Pembroke.

While his biological father is a high school golf coach in Georgia and told Jackson years ago “that if you get into golf, you can have it for the rest of your life,” the bug has only taken hold in the last few years. The pandemic of 2020 accelerated his passion; he played frequently at Scituate Country Club and was directed to a well-known golf figure on the Massachusetts scene, Scott Whitcomb for lessons and guidance on equipment.

“I was using blades. No wonder I kept hitting shanks,” laughed Wetherbee.

Blades gone, Wetherbee has improved. The next challenge is to fit golf into his road travels.

“Musicians who tour need a break and a lot of them love golf,” said Wetherbee. “The guys from ‘Slightly Stoopid’ all play golf and we’ll tour with them. For me, having the ability to get a break from the bus ride, which is not glamorous, and having an activity like golf is important.”

Mind you, Wetherbee knows that “music is my job” and it’s been his passion for as long as he can remember. He was writing music while at Duxbury High School and went to Westfield College with every intention to pursue a career in opera.

Signed by Universal Records at 19, the deal unfortunately fell through. But not before he met Jay-Z, who told Wetherbee he had a great voice “and recommended that I leave college.”

Advice followed, Wetherbee jumped full-time in music, formed a band, played clubs all over the South Shore, and experienced all the rough roads and bumps that come with the territory. He and Asta joined forces in 2014, immediately set out to build a band, and what has ensued is the continuity of the talents who make up The Elovaters and agree with the mission.

“We don’t want to play band covers, we want original music,” said Wetherbee. “We’re trying to make that happen.”

They are, in a big way.

But, if you happen to cross paths with Wetherbee at Sandbaggers or Southers Marsh or one of the many other playgrounds offered to golfers on the South Shore, understand that he’s not at work so don’t ask him to sing the praises of golf.

Unless he wants to. At which point, be prepared for sweetness.