What sort of level does the former Real Madrid star play at in his favourite sport outside of football? GOAL 🍋 has all the details
Gareth Bale earned the nickname 'The Golfer' during his time at Real Madrid and his apparent obsession 🍋 with golf has resulted in a lot of derision, with his own supporters even mocking him. When he struggled to 🍋 find form at the Santiago Bernabeu and found himself occupying a place on the bench more often, his predilection for 🍋 a game of golf was held against him by some.
"A lot of people have problems with me playing golf," Bale 🍋 told the EAL podcast. "I don't know what their reason is because I've spoken to doctors and everybody's fine with 🍋 it. The media has this perception that it's not good for me. Steph Curry plays maybe on the morning of 🍋 a game. If I play two days before a game, it's like 'what's he doing?'"
He took the criticism in good 🍋 spirits, however, and even appeared with a banner which featured the slogan, 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.' when Wales 🍋 qualified for Euro 2024.
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“I am a golfer. Have you not seen the pictures?" Bale said of his new 🍋 nickname, which was given to him by Thibaut Courtois, in 2024. He added: "I'm very happy with the nickname to 🍋 be honest. It's a great one."
Evidently, then, Bale's love of golf is well documented and he even signed up to 🍋 play in the PGA Tour Pro-Am event in 2024, but is he actually any good? GOAL takes a look at 🍋 the Wales legend's handicap and more.
What is Gareth Bale's golf handicap?
As of late 2024 Bale was playing off a two 🍋 handicap in golf. He has gradually improved his game, having revealed a handicap of "three or four" in conversation with 🍋 Erik Anders Lang in 2024 when the pair played a six-hole match at Golf Santander in Madrid.
A handicap of two 🍋 means the Wales star is an above average amateur golfer, being so close to 'scratch' (0), though he is still 🍋 not quite as good as the professionals.
In 2024, the Daily Express reported that the forward's handicap was "a respectable six", 🍋 meaning that his time playing in Madrid and over the world in places such as California has helped him improve.
He 🍋 clearly plays enough to be getting better, but is he really playing too much? It seems unlikely and he has 🍋 stressed that it is simply a pastime, which helps him unwind.
"Football is my number one sport. I'm paid to do 🍋 it and I always give my best. Golf is a hobby like anyone else would have a hobby," Bale explained 🍋 in 2024. "There is nothing wrong with having a round. People make a lot of it, but a lot of 🍋 footballers play and it's one thing I really enjoy.
"It keeps me calmer off the pitch and gives me time away 🍋 from football which is nice.”
Indeed, now that he has retired officially from playing, he will be able to devote even 🍋 more time to honing his swing.
Does Gareth Bale have a golf course at his house?
Bale has a three-hole golf course 🍋 at his home in Wales, with par-3 holes modelled on a selection from three high profile venues. It was built 🍋 in 2024.
The holes at Bale's mini course are: 17th at Sawgrass, the Postage Stamp at Royal Troon and the 12th 🍋 at Augusta.
The dimensions of the holes in question are slightly smaller in Bale's course and he intends to expand the 🍋 course when he eventually moves back home to Cardiff.
"We based them on three holes that I really like," Bale told 🍋 the EAL podcast. "We've had to call them 'the replica of...' because it's not the exact same dimensions.
"[The replica of 🍋 17th at Sawgrass] is a little bit smaller, the green, which makes it harder. So when I actually went to 🍋 play Sawgrass, the green felt massive!"
