Wolstenholme - a breed apart

Posted on 09/03/09. Source: Fairway to Green Magazine (By Adam Carroll-Smith)

In the modern game, Gary Wolstenholme is an anomaly.

For most golfers with the requisite ability to turn professional, amateur status is little more than an unavoidable, transient and wholly unspectacular step on the path to joining the glitz and dizzying
financial opportunities of the professional ranks.

For Wolstenholme, however, it has been far more than that. A two-time British Amateur champion, the most capped player in amateur golf history, and holder of a singles match victory over Tiger Woods in the 1995 Walker Cup, Wolstenholme's CV is without equal in the amateur game.

But while ex-Walker Cup team mates such as Luke Donald have ascended to the upper echelons of the professional game with consummate ease, Wolstenholme has shunned opportunities to switch codes, and with each passing year, it looked less and less likely he ever would succumb to the temptation.

Now 48, Wolstenholme has finally decided to take the plunge into the deep and uncharted oceans of
the professional game.

• "I've sacrificed a lot for my golf career, and I regret not meeting somebody and having children..."

Golf 's most famous active amateur golfer is now the oldest rookie in the professional game. The question remains then, that after so many years of saying ‘no', why is now the right time for Gary Wolstenholme to say ‘yes'?

Is he willingly jumping into pro golf 's choppy waters, or is he being pushed?

"There are two main reasons behind the decision," he explained.

"Firstly, turning pro is obviously something I have considered many times, and as I'm approaching 50, it was very much a case of thinking ‘if I don't do this now, I never will'.

"It's also a financial decision though, and while turning pro isn't something I didn't want to do, at the end of the day, it's more the case that the financial side of things has dictated my decision.

"My previous job was changing, and I couldn't find employment which would allow me to maintain my golf commitments. I just couldn't afford to stay as an amateur."

An immensely likeable and talkative man, Wolstenholme is unafraid to share his opinions, and sees no reason not to talk frankly and openly about his decision. His has been an unconventional and cautious route to the professional game, and as such, his reasons for making the move are similarly singular and pragmatic.

But despite the apparently practical reasoning behind his decision, there is clearly a third reason behind Wolstenholme's apparent change of heart - the undeniable competitive fire which still burns within him.

At 48, the Senior Tour is a none-to-distant opportunity on the horizon for Wolstenholme, and it is
one which he is intent on making the most of.

"Of course the Senior Tour is the ultimate goal, and I've got a couple of years to work hard and make sure I'm competitive for it.

"It's a tough opportunity, and I'm not entering into it with any specific expectations, but I honestly believe that if I do the best I can, there is no reason why I can't win in Europe, win in America - or
even win a Senior British Open.

"As long as I'm fit and swinging well, I have every ambition of achieving as much as possible."

Hearing Wolstenholme speak with such passion and self-belief only serves to underline quite how baffling his decision to delay the transition to the pro ranks really is.

Various theories over the years have suggested not only a lack of self-belief, but a lack of ambition, or a simple lack of interest in the often lonely existence of a touring golfer.

Wolstenholme gives each theory short shrift. He said: "I've sacrificed a lot for my golf career, and I regret not meeting somebody and having children.

"That's an incredible sacrifice to make, and I'm not sure people understand that.

"As for the travelling side of things, it obviously gets harder to do it as you get older, but I've always enjoyed it, and I'm very self-reliant.

"To be honest, I just didn't feel I was really ready to have a crack at the pros until I was at least 33, but mainly, turning pro just hasn't made practical sense to me until now.

"Now I feel I'm making the right decision, for the right reasons and at the right time."

As Wolstenholme enters a new chapter in his life, he understandably begins a period of transition, and helping him to adjust is one of the biggest influences in his life: his mother.

"My Mum has been a steadying factor in my life; she's sacrificed so much to help me. "She's  experienced the highs and lows with me, and was the proudest person when I received my MBE.

"She's a little apprehensive of my decision to turn pro, but she believes in me, and supports my decision, so I know it's the right one."

Without doubt, the game of golf will not see another like Wolstenholme. Others with a modicum of his golfing ability may have found his reticence to turn professional a frustrating misdirection of his talents, but perhaps now he has finally taken that final great leap, it is time to simply celebrate and admire what he has achieved in the amateur game, rather than musing on what could have been.

Regardless of what he may achieve in the future, Wolstenholme won't be forgetting what the amateur game has given him, and neither should golf fans.

He may have spent years turning his back  on the possibility of riches on the pro tour, but he wouldn't change a thing.

"I've been in a privileged position as an amateur, and I've done some amazing things in my life," he admitted.

"I've represented my country, met presidents and royalty, and played golf all over the world, so I've been incredibly lucky.

"Turning pro is a new experience, and at the moment, my life is a bit like a rollercoaster - I don't know where I'm going, or when it's going to stop.

"That in itself is frightening and exciting, but I'm looking forward to it all, whatever the outcome."

He may have been pushed somewhat on to pro golf 's unforgiving seas, but there is no chance of Gary
Wolstenholme finding himself out of his depth.