‘I used to think golf was tedious and boring... but it’s nothing like that’

Andy Cole once loathed golf, but now he can’t get enough after Dwight Yorke persuaded him to take it up. There’s a reason for that…

ndy Cole is a stark reminder of life’s fragility. Once one of the most feared strikers in the game, especially for Manchester United, the 46-year-old is now just glad to be alive. Last year he underwent a kidney transplant after falling ill with a mystery virus on a trip to Vietnam in 2015. He told us: “The illness knocked me off my feet. Being as fit as I was, I found it really difficult to cope. It’s been a tough couple of years,” added the third highest scorer in Premier League history with 187 goals (only trailing Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney). He won just about every honour in the game including five PL titles, two FA Cups and, most notably, the magical 1999 treble under Sir Alex Ferguson. He didn’t have much time for golf –until his strike partner Dwight Yorke finally persuaded him to take it up.

Golf has partly been my saviour. It has helped me big-time since I underwent my kidney transplant. Obviously they were worrying times, but golf has helped get me back on the right track, giving me something to do, something to look forward to.

My main battles following the transplant have been mental ones, but golf allowed me to get out for a nice walk and be able to clear my head. I enjoy it. I just wish I’d started playing a lot earlier. My Manchester United team-mate Dwight Yorke (three handicap) tried to get me on the course a long time ago. He is mad keen – he says he’s a golf pervert! – but I was adamant I wasn’t going to play, and he couldn’t persuade me to take it up.

At the time I just thought it was a long game, tedious and boring. But when you eventually get into it you quickly realise how wrong first impressions can be. It’s nothing like I thought it was.

I eventually started playing as soon as I retired from football about nine years ago. On a good day I can play off a 10 handicap, not a problem. But on the flip side, on a bad day anything and any score is possible!

That inconsistency hurts. As a professional sportsman you’re always competitive, you always want to become better and that’s certainly the case when you play golf. I’ve had loads of lessons and I’ve had some really good rounds, scores in the low 80s, but I’ve had lots of absolute shockers! I’m not a club thrower, though… my motto is I’ve been a pro once and won’t be a professional again.

I do take my hat off to professional golfers. To conduct themselves as they do over five hours for four days running, five if you count the pro-am, is pretty special. I’m full of admiration of them. Mentally it’s a tougher game than football.

I’ve played in a few pro-ams, but unfortunately wasn’t well enough to play in last year’s BMW at Wentworth. So it was great to play alongside Graeme Storm in the British Masters at Close House later in the year. I’ve tended to strike it lucky with the pros – they can make your day, having a good chat with them and getting a few useful tips at the same time. I’m not going to lie, the nerves on the first tee are the worst ever; it’s a horrible feeling. You don’t really care where it goes as long as you just hit the ball.

I’ve been fortunate to play some great courses – Congressional and Yas Links in Abu Dhabi being two. But my best golfing experience was having a birdseye view of the Miracle of Medinah at the 2012 Ryder Cup. Manchester United’s sponsors AEON are based in Chicago and had corporate hospitality on the 18th hole… it doesn’t get any better than that. I usually go to Portugal every year with some mates and play a selection of courses out there and we’ve been to Turkey, too.

Other than just trying to improve and enjoy it, I don’t have any great golfing ambitions. I’m not an anal golfer – it gets me out of the house and it’s good exercise. If I hit a bad shot I don’t get angry, there’s no point. Driving is my nemesis although my putting is solid. Chipping is pretty difficult because it’s a bit of an art form.

Golf is such a great escape. I’m lucky because, living in the north west there are so many great courses around me. I tend to play with some old mates and if I play with any footballers it would be Yorkey, who is virtually my next door neighbour… when he’s in the country that is.

Dwight and I thought we’d score every week. If one of us didn’t score, the other would. We could alter our play depending on the opposition; I’d go long, he’d go short. Nobody knew how to mark us. At times, we had so much space that we took liberties.

My only regret is that I didn’t start playing golf earlier. Now I just feel like I’m playing catch-up. If I took it up when Dwight told me to, I’d probably be at his level by now.