Gareth Bale Hits The Simulator After World Cup Golf Ban

Wales star Gareth Bale keeping his swing going on simulator while at the World Cup in Qatar

Gareth Bale golf swing
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Paul Higham
By Paul Higham
last updated

Gareth Bale has taken to a golf simulator during his down time with Wales at the World Cup, after being banned from going out on the golf course while the team are competing in Qatar.

A more condensed World Cup means that games are coming thick and fast, and Wales boss Rob Page has banned golf nut Bale from heading out on the local tracks in the searing heat while Wales are still in the competition.

Wales have made the World Cup for the first time since 1958, but even carrying that weight of history on his shoulders, superstar Bale still wants to find time to keep his golf swing ticking over.

And far from just giving up on golf while he’s in the Middle East, Bale has taken to a golf simulator at the team’s luxury hotel, taking on his team-mates at golfing challenges in between training sessions.

“We've just been in the swimming pool, playing table tennis, pool and golf,” Cardiff striker Mark Harris told the Express.

“Team spirit is great anyway but games like that help you. Gareth's very good at the golf. I think most of us have had a swing and we had a go after training as we had some spare time.

“It is great fun and competitive. It is a bit of a laugh but you want to win. It's just been nearest to pin at the minute but I'm sure some lads will play an actual course soon. You can pick a nine-hole or an 18-hole course.”

Bale is an ambassador for the R&A and also put his name on this year’s Cazoo Open at Celtic Manor in Wales as part of his own personal bid to grow the game he loves. As for his day job, Wales will take on England, the USA and Iran in Group B of the World Cup in Qatar.

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Paul Higham
Paul Higham
Contributor

Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website.  Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush. 

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