The Family Man

Comic Sebastian Maniscalco uses golf to connect with his kin.

“I’M ALWAYS THE GUY that forgets the coin or the ball marker, so I gotta use like a blade of grass or a leaf to mark my ball,” says comedian Sebastian Maniscalco. “I don’t have all the . . . [he pauses, then adopts a snooty tone] accoutrements in my bag.”

Maniscalco can be forgiven for the under packed golf bag, for he has had bigger things on his mind. Over the past few years, the suburban Chicago native has transformed himself from a niche comic into one of the largest box-office draws in comedy. He sold out five shows at New York’s Radio City Music Hall in April—one was recorded as a Netflix special that’ll debut in December—and in January, he begins a series of four dates at the 19,000-seat Madison Square Garden.