Jay Bothroyd: Former Premier League striker joins England Golf’s Game Changers initiative and explains why he loves the sport | Golf news

Golf couldn’t have been further from Jay Bothroyd’s radar growing up in north London, but the former Premier League striker is now part of an initiative that highlights the benefits of the sport.

Bothroyd joined England Golf’s ‘Game Changers’ campaign, which aims to challenge outdated perceptions of the game and highlight its strengths, having fallen in love with the sport towards the end of his footballing career.

Golfing experiences had largely been limited to an occasional charity golf day for Bothroyd during his club career, spanning more than 500 appearances, until playing for Japanese top-flight team Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I had a lot of free time because my family was in the UK and the Covid rules in Japan were quite strict,” Bothroyd said. told Sky Sports. “The only places you could go were parks and golf courses, so that’s when I started getting into golf and practicing a little more.

“When I decided to retire, that’s when I came back and really got to work.”

Bothroyd, an Arsenal academy graduate, retired from football in 2021, having also played for Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers, as well as spells in Italy and Thailand, with golf now offering him a new passion.

“I had a conversation with my wife and I was telling her that I needed some sort of challenge in my life to keep me sane,” Bothroyd explained. “That’s what I’ve always had throughout my football career and that’s what I want to have for the rest of my life.

“When I was growing up I had a lot of anger issues, I was a hothead until my twenties, but golf helped me become more patient, calmer, and forget about my last bad shot and move on to the next one.

“It’s a game that I truly love as much as I love football. Football will always be my first love, but golf is right next door now.”

Bothroyd’s journey into golf has seen him co-found YouTube golf channel ‘The OuttaBoundz Show’ alongside Sky Sports’ Trey Niven and appear in several Pro-Am events, with the former England international currently playing to a handicap of eight.

“I still have a long way to go, but I have seen a big improvement in my game,” Bothroyd explained. “It’s a lot of back and forth, especially when you’re making changes. I really enjoy it, I like the challenge.

“Of course, I don’t play football week in and week out anymore, but if I didn’t touch a football for six months, I could go play a football match and still play well. In golf, if I don’t have a club in my hand for a few days, it’s over. I might as well start all over again.

“That’s the difficulty, but that’s why I love it. It’s a challenge that you can never really master. I mean, even professional players always have to be on top and always practice.”

“I just want to be as good as possible.”

Jimmy Bullard has discussed trying to qualify for the Legends Tour once he turns 50 and Gareth Bale has already impressed at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, while former Premier League player Peter Odemwingie is now a PGA golf professional.

Harry Kane, John Terry and James Milner are other footballers known to impress on the golf course, alongside former Bournemouth and Wolves manager Gary O’Neil, although Bothroyd puts no pressure on himself to match their golfing efforts.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I just want to be as good as possible,” Bothroyd admitted. “When I was playing football, I always said I wanted to be the best I could be and I would put in the effort and the hours to achieve that. That’s kind of what I want to do in golf.

“I’m not going to set a goal, but I want to be the best I can be. Because of my competitive nature, especially when you play against other footballers, you want to be the best. There are some very good players. [ex-footballer] golfers there.

“It’s one of those sports that you want to keep improving all the time. Sometimes you have to go back a lot to move forward, like I’m doing right now, but it’s just one of those sports that I love playing and I think golf is a big part of my life now.”

The Game Changers are part of England Golf’s wider strategic vision for 2025-30, aimed at bringing together people committed to showcasing golf as a safe, inclusive, sustainable and inspiring sport.

“There will always be rules on and around the golf course, especially when it comes to the game itself, but I think golf is evolving,” explained Bothroyd. “I think more and more people want to get involved because they see the fun side of it.

“Adidas Golf makes clothing that you can wear on the golf course, but also casually. There are now more simulators, driving ranges and other places where people can get involved and just have a little fun.

“I think the younger generation today, thanks to YouTube and social media, is giving golf more eyes. They see someone they idolize playing golf, who maybe they didn’t think would play, and they think ‘oh, you know what, if he can do it, maybe I can do it.’

“I want to spread the message, involve the younger generations and give them the opportunities that I didn’t have in sport when I was growing up.”