Former Super Eagles and Stoke City striker, Peter Osaze Odemwingie, has revealed his initial dislike for golf challenged him to become a professional in the sport, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 43-year-old called time on his active footballer career that spanned 19 years in 2019, after playing for ten clubs, both at home and abroad.
Post-retirement, he had a brief stint as a football agent, before going into golf full-time, as he passed his PGA course earlier this year.2
“It’s unbelievable. I never thought I could get so obsessed with this game. I didn’t like golf initially because I thought it was a bit slow – I was a striker who liked to sprint and score goals, but what attracted me was the challenge and trying to master it. The mental side of things is probably the hardest part,” the former Cardiff City forward said in an interview with The Guardian.
“Sometimes I would sit in the dressing room and I would hear the boys using all these terms: birdie and this and that. I didn’t understand because golf has a totally different vocabulary. We were at a golf resort in 2012 and the other players were on the putting green and the driving range. I was walking by wearing my slippers and I decided to have a go. The coach was very impressed with my putting even though I’d never done it before. On the way back, I passed by the pro shop and kitted myself out all Tiger Woods,” the former Super Eagles striker said about his first encounter with Golf.
After catching the golf frenzy in 2012, the game grew on him, and he began playing regularly after his move to Stoke City in the English Premier League in 2014.
The then-Stoke City coach, Mark Hughes was a huge golf fan, and Osaze recalled the manager teasing he and his teammates to always go out and play.
“They used it to make sure we trained properly – the reward was golf in the afternoon. It created a good bond between us and was part of the reason for our success at the time. We were really close and there was always lots of laughter,” the former Bendel Insurance revealed.
He started a law course at a local college which in turn enabled him to begin a degree, earning an opportunity for a foundation-level degree in professional golf studies at the University of Birmingham. However, the switch from leisure to playing as a professional was tough.
“It’s totally different doing it under pressure. You see it even with the best players at the elite tournaments. You fight your thoughts constantly.”
Away from golf, the former West Bromwich Albion striker plans to return to football next year with the aim of securing his coaching badges. In the meantime, he hopes his venture into golf will bring more Africans into the game.
“When I watch the tour, I never see any West Africans in contention so I thought: There’s something that can be done here.’ It would be great to have families tell me in the future that they read about my story and that their kids decided to take up golf. I love to hear the passion from fans who remember me as a player and it’s the same feeling. Hopefully, I can help attract some people to the sport which is now an Olympic event as well and we can see some African players coming through,” Osaze concluded.
Odemwingie made his senior debut for the Super Eagles in 2002 and retired from International duty in 2014, scoring 11 goals in 62 games in the green and white colours of Nigeria.