Perhaps Don Cheadle could lobby director Steven Soderbergh to break out the Ocean movie magic one more time, this time with a golf theme. Not Ocean’s 14, mind you. We’re thinking Ocean’s 7-Iron, a spoof of sorts with Cheadle himself moving from his multi-movie supporting stint as demolition whiz Basher Tarr into the title role since George Clooney 1) doesn’t play golf as far as anyone knows and 2) if there’s anyone who can pull off such cinematic sleight-of-hand, it’s the versatile Kansas City native with an acting resume as long and impressive as the best Tiger tee shot. Better yet, Cheadle might choose to riff on his latest role as Col. James “Rhodey” Rhodes (also known as War Machine) in Iron Man 2.

Anybody for 7-Iron Man?

hy that particular club? It seems to be a go-to stick for Cheadle. At least that’s the weapon he pulled a couple summers ago during the American Century Celebrity Championship at Edgewood Tahoe. Cheadle yanked his tee shot way left on No. 17, the lakeside 3-par populated during the annual July event by bikini’d beauties and beer-swilling dudes. As he spied his options for negotiating a way home out of the pine straw and through a stand of big trees, it looked as though he would have to stay low and cover about 50 yards to find the green. But there was a second option — loft it up through a small window between limbs. “Just throw it up there with a sand wedge,” yelled a bystander. No dice: Cheadle went with the 7-iron, manufacturing a nifty little chip-and-runner that bounced through fallen pine cones, checked in the rough surrounding the green and rolled to a stop about 15 feet from the pin.

“Not bad,” said the bystander. An obviously pleased but focused Cheadle said nothing, offered nary a reaction in fact — no smile, no wave — but simply handed the 7-iron back to his caddie and went on his way, head held high.

This guy loves golf. He wasn’t up there on Tahoe’s south shore just to knock elbows with fellow celebs and sign a few autographs. He was there to play, to compete, to make a good showing, mostly through his short game — definitely his strong suit. At this point, the 45-year-old Oscar-nominated actor doesn’t have the all-around game to crack the AmCen’s small circle of contenders, guys like Rick Rhoden, Dan Quinn, Billy Joe Tolliver and Tony Romo. He’s an upper-single-digit handicapper who’s sometimes sideways off the tee and a little wobbly with the mid-range sticks, 7-iron notwithstanding. But he loves the game as deeply as any star on the celeb circuit, and as one of Hollywood’s most socially conscious figures, he’s expert at parlaying that love — along with his equally amorous relationship with No-Limit Hold ’Em poker — into money for his large litany of causes from AIDS to Africa relief to hunger, poverty, disaster relief and sexual abuse.

Though he has yet to put together his own golf-related fundraiser (we figure it’s just a matter of time), Cheadle is a regular on the charity trail, showing up at several annual events in Southern California along with the sport’s marquee pro-ams, including the little winter soiree on the Monterey Peninsula. In mid-May he was scheduled to take part in the inaugural Emmitt Smith Celebrity Invitational Golf Tournament, which helps create educational experiences and enrichment opportunities for underserved children. Other invitees included Kenny G, Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Greg Kinnear, George Lopez, Ludacris (!) and Chris Rock (!!). Smith, of course, often joins Cheadle as a regular both at Tahoe and at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where Cheadle cut a stylish figure in February against the gorgeous green background of Pebble, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club’s Shore Course. FG caught up with him there, at No. 10, a spectacular 3-par with a back tee ensconced between rock formations and sweeping views of the Pacific and Cypress Point in the distance. He was well put together in black and gray, all pressed seams and tailored lines with a tam-o-shanter topper — a sartorial show of respect for the game that captivates him both in public and private, according to fellow movie star Halle Berry, who helped honor Cheadle at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival. “It’s his favorite pastime,” she said. “Don has a putting green in his back yard that he built so he can just putt, putt, putt, putt, putt and much to [wife] Bridget’s dismay, he’s always out there putting.”

Sure, he’s gotta get his fix between dawn-to-dusk movie rehearsals and final shoots, and no doubt his new Iron Man role — for which he stepped into the shoes of Terrence Howard, who played Rhodes in the 2008 original — will put a serious hurt on his golf game. Same with all the other flicks he’s appeared in over the years, from his Oscar-worthy 2004 lead turn as a hotel operator-turned-humanitarian in Hotel Rwanda (he also had a role in 2006’s Best Picture, Crash) to the three Ocean’s efforts to more recent roles like Talk To Me, in which he played a controversial Washington, D.C., radio talker, and a co-starring role in the 2007 offbeat drama Reign Over Me alongside Adam Sandler. He also had memorable spots in Boogie Nights and Out of Sight, where he held his own with Clooney. But in golf, as in acting and fundraising, Cheadle is as dedicated to constant improvement as he is versatile. It’s evident in the way he plays at places like Edgewood and Pebble, never changing expression or pace whether he’s hit a flushed drive or semi-shanked approach. In short, he maintains the measured, thoughtful and focused mien of a pro — the same brand of behavior he brings to the poker table.

And it’s at that same table, alongside fellow celebs and even some of the world’s top Hold ’Em practioners, where Cheadle helps raise boatloads of cash for his most intensely advocated cause — the continent of Africa and the Sudan in particular. He got a first-hand view of the horror of day-to-day life in that beleaguered nation when he traveled to the devastated Darfur region in 2005. He saw what it’s like in a part of the world where tens of thousands have died and many more have been rendered homeless, and he returned to the United States inspired to help. In 2006, he and poker champ Annie Duke and their friend Norman Epstein founded Ante Up For Africa. Initially, their goals were as modest as the problem is huge: They pictured a one-time celebrity poker tournament that might raise $20,000 or $30,000. Their first-day take? $700,000.

In poker parlance, they clearly flopped the nuts to open. And with this year’s Ante Up for Charity event, taking place in Las Vegas July 3 on the eve of the World Series of Poker, Cheadle, Duke and a big cast of big-betting buddies will look to add to the coffers in a meaningful way.

“Everybody wants to give, but they also want value in return for their time,” Duke told CNN, no doubt buying into the idea that trying to out-draw a movie star or a pro athlete at cards is a stronger tool than “boring speeches” at yet another fundraising dinner. “I think there’s a variety of ways to do that that are effective, but I’m not sure anything is more effective than a poker tournament, because people come and they can genuinely hang out with celebrities and some of the famous poker players and just have a really fantastic time while they’re giving.”

As jarring as those images may be — wealthy celebs gathering around a table while millions of subsistence farmers and nomads are killed or driven from their villages half a world away — the group’s success is undeniable. Ante Up For Africa has raised about $2.5 million. Besides linking up with the world’s biggest poker tournament in Las Vegas, Cheadle and Duke have also hosted events in Monte Carlo, Monaco and also closer to home at the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in California. That Native American tribe anted up $500,000 of its own.

Still, it’s tough for celebrities to rise above the raised eyebrows often thrown their way when they put their names and dollars behind a worthy concern. Cheadle recognizes that’s just part of human nature, but points to another Ocean’s series co-star to back up his own philosophy that, ultimately, using fame for good is crucial. “Brad [Pitt] is fond of saying — and he’s right about this — he can’t get out of the light, you know. And these guys [Sudanese refugees] can’t get in the light,” Cheadle says. “Some people look at that and are cynical about it and think, ‘That’s just frivolous celebrities trying to give themselves some sort of gravitas.’ But I still say, even if it is that, there is still something going on over there, and we want you to look over there. So you try and take the opportunity whenever you can.”

Once the Las Vegas “Ante” is complete and the World Series itself begins, Cheadle likes to stick around and watch the pros in action, or perhaps get in on it — in the past he’s gone up against Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson and Gus Hansen, and even beat Ivey once in competition. He also finds his way to the desert to get in a round or two at one of the area’s private tracks. One such outing in 2008 found him playing with his Dad, Don Sr., who lives in Denver where Cheadle attended high school. Joining them was the course’s starter, Barry Rose, who showed up as a Saturday morning walk-on.

“I walked up to the threesome and said, ‘I know you,’” Rose told the Rocky Mountain News. Cheadle had uncharacteristically shown up wearing jeans and a collarless shirt, which won’t get it done at most courses. “He went into the pro shop and bought pants, a golf shirt, shoes and rental clubs,” Rose said. “He could hit the ball. I’d like to see him playing with his own clubs.”

Rose managed to get in a little movie talk while sizing up Cheadle’s game. “I told him my favorite movie of his is Swordfish with John Travolta. I asked him about working with Travolta. He said, ‘He’s OK.’”

Typical Cheadle — understated, wry and honest. Just what you want in a golfer, actor, poker player and humanitarian. He’s a War Machine with a heart of gold.