Former Super Eagles striker, Peter Osaze Odemwingie has shared how his initial dislike for golf challenged him to pursue it professionally.
Odemwingie made his senior debut for Nigeria in 2002 and retired from international duty in 2014.
He scored 11 goals in 62 appearances for the Super Eagles.
The 43-year-old, who retired from football in 2019 after a 19-year career, recently passed his PGA course and is now a professional golfer.
“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,” Odemwingie explained 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.”
After catching the golf bug, Peter Odemwingie became more involved in the game, especially after joining Stoke City in 2014.
“Mark Hughes, the then-Stoke City coach, was a huge golf fan,” he shared. “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.”
Odemwingie later pursued academic courses that enabled him to earn a foundation-level degree in professional golf studies at the University of Birmingham. However, transitioning from leisure to professional golf proved challenging.
“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, Odemwingie has plans to return to football, aiming to secure his coaching badges next year.
“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.”
”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.”
