I recently stumbled across a quote from the inspirational Victoria Arlen on overcoming whatever challenges life presents …
“We all have challenges. We have to face them, embrace them, defy them, and conquer them”
This quote could quite easily have been attributed to Gary Day, who I first met during the summer of 2019 for the article Meet the Professional – Gary Day
For those of you who have not read the article, or are unaware of Gary’s story, please let me share the following abridged excerpts …
- 1996 – Enrolled with the PGA to undertake the 3-year course to qualify as a PGA Professional.
- 2005 – Appointed as General Manager at Cookridge Hall Golf Club.
- 2006 – After breaking the course record at Wallasey Golf Club during final qualifying, Gary realised a childhood dream and played in The Open at Hoylake, which was won by Tiger Woods.
- 2015 – A freak accident resulted in Gary falling off his bike. With no apparent injuries other than some pain in his shoulder, Gary continued working as normal at Cookridge Hall. Then, a few days later, he collapsed and was rushed to a hospital. Scans confirmed he had suffered a serious stroke which impacted the left-hand side of his body and the right-hand side of his brain, requiring a decompressive craniectomy and then eventually a cranioplasty.
Gary’s journey to recovery continues to this day, but that has not prevented him from organising and hosting several very successful charity events (more on those later), and in late Autumn 2022 launching the Gary Day Foundation.
I hope you enjoy this article about his innovative Foundation …
The First Tee
(Golfing Herald): Gary and I have stayed in touch and met up on a regular basis since 2019, including attending a 2020protour event at Northcliffe Golf Club, and the historic Leeds Cup at Leeds Golf Club … so it was only a matter of time before I interviewed him once again, this time about the Gary Day Foundation. I teed off by asking Gary to pick up his story from where we had left off in the ‘Meet the Professional’ article.
(Gary): As you are aware, following my stroke in 2015, Cookridge Hall Golf Club where I was working at the time, laid me off, for the want of a better phrase. So when I came home after leaving the hospital and slowly starting my rehab, I kind of lost direction of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go for the next chapter(s) in my life.
Sense of Purpose
(Golfing Herald): And as we have talked about previously, before your accident you very much had a sense of purpose in your role as General Manager at Cookridge Hall.
(Gary): Absolutely … it was very much an operational and business development role, so my mind was always active in exploring ways to enhance the business. So I go from that scenario and having a purpose to effectively nothing. I always had aspirations to return to a similar kind of role in golf but that did not come to fruition as positions like that are few and far between. Rolling the clock quickly forward we were then impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown which meant that like thousands of people, I spent many hours thinking and trying to come up with various ideas of what direction to take next. As I said earlier, I lost my direction, and that is not me. I have always had some kind of targets or goals I wanted to achieve.
Helping Others
(Golfing Herald): Although lockdown was debilitating in so many different ways for all of us, in a perverse sort of way it created time and space to reflect and think and attempt to be positive despite the restrictions.
(Gary): Without a doubt that was the case for me. As you know I have always been involved with charitable events, and I have always thrived on helping others and identifying areas that might lack something, and seeing what I could input to help. And I think that is where the idea for the Foundation all started, as I didn’t want to let my 20+ years of being a professional golfer and the knowledge and experience I have gained over that time go to waste.
High Risk
(Golfing Herald): What underpinned your idea for a golf-themed Foundation?
(Gary): My original idea was to set up an indoor golf facility. The indoor facility was going to provide an outlet, particularly during the winter months, for golfers to use equipment such as golf simulators, and I could teach out of there. I also wanted to incorporate the idea of bringing groups of people who wouldn’t normally play golf to the facility … whether it be a person with a (selected) disability … or introducing children to golf who otherwise would not have the opportunity. But then the business side of me kicked in. After crunching the numbers and working out what it would cost for the initial set-up fees and then forecasting a potential income stream, I just couldn’t get the numbers to marry up to the level I wanted to do. It was just too much of a risk to throw lots of investment at this particular idea.
Concept Development
(Golfing Herald): So how did you develop your thinking after discounting the notion of an indoor golf facility?
(Gary): The concept of an indoor golf facility, and how I wanted to run it once it was up and running was still very much at the forefront of my thinking. I thought I could still do that, but try to piggyback on something that already exists, but with zero or minimal cost to me. So I did that and set up what is now known as the Gary Day Foundation, which is geared along exactly the same lines of introducing golf to children and young adults of varying backgrounds, abilities, etc. who ordinarily would not get the opportunity to be exposed to the sport of golf.
Complementary Offering
(Golfing Herald): What would be an example of piggybacking on something that already exists, aligned with the principles of your Foundation?
(Gary): With the children, for example, I could go to their schools and utilise the sports hall, or whatever they may have, which then overcomes the prohibitive challenge of (annually) funding thousands of pounds for a bespoke facility, which is not feasible for the (not for profit) Foundation. At the moment I am approaching various schools and community hubs … and I now have the website set up. So, everything can be directed through the website. I also have contacts and friends who work for the local councils that are helping to navigate me to certain areas where what I offer through the Foundation can complement their current offering.
Life Skills
(Golfing Herald): I know from viewing the Foundation’s website, that you offer more than just coaching golf.
(Gary): That’s right … I also focus on what golf as a sport brings in terms of life and social skills. Especially with children, it works a treat! In the sense that I was very fortunate to start playing golf very early in my life, and on the back of that I was introduced at an early age to an environment (golf club, golf course, fellow players, etc.) where behaviour and the manner in which you conducted yourself was very different to what I had experienced up to that point. I joined Sand Moor Golf Club as a junior and all of a sudden, I am mixing with not only juniors but also adult members who might be thrice my age! So, you quickly learn how to communicate with different people and how to behave in the correct way.
Refugees
(Golfing Herald): But those values and behaviours are life skills which can’t be taught (at school) and stand you in good stead for the real world.
(Gary): Exactly … and that is something I want to do with the Foundation. A prime example is the work we have done over several sessions with a group of child refugees from Afghanistan and Syria, who have been brought to the UK under the resettlement programmes. It is unimaginable what they have gone through in their home countries, but I have to say they are just a great set of children. It has been immensely satisfying, and you can really see the progression after each session … and amongst the group, there are a few who are showing some form (with the golf)!
(Golfing Herald): What age group are these children?
(Gary): The youngest will be about seven years of age and the oldest are about twelve or thirteen. At the moment all of our sessions with these children are conducted indoors, but as we approach warmer weather (spring/summer) I would like to run the sessions at an actual driving range and for them to start hitting proper golf balls!
Vision
(Golfing Herald): I might be jumping ahead, but do you think that one day your Foundation might establish a partnership with a golf club for those children who show some potential? Effectively graduating from the Foundation and becoming a junior member at a golf club.
(Gary): In an ideal world what I would love to happen is to get the children from the driving range and onto a golf course … I have recently received some golf equipment for those children who have a bit of talent, but more importantly enthusiasm. You have to remember that these children (from Afghanistan and Syria) have absolutely nothing. But this proposed pathway is not limited to these children. If the same scenario was to arise in a mainstream school, then the same thinking on progression will apply. Subject to how the Foundation continues, my vision is for the Foundation to fund the children’s route into golf clubs, alongside any operational costs in organising and running the coaching sessions … and any surplus funds will be directed towards other local community projects.
(Golfing Herald): Linked to your vision … on the website you talk about the long-term, and hoping that the Foundation might be able to assist people to secure employment within the golfing industry.
(Gary): The Foundation is very much about building up from the grassroots … giving children and young adults opportunities within the game of golf, and to be exposed to the kind of things that I was, to help them build their characters, shape their values, etc. Something we have talked about before is that I am 100% convinced that my experiences and my background in golf from a relatively young age were integral factors in my recovery from the strokes … not only in the first twelve months but also up to the current day. I am convinced that the right mindset can be employed in whatever avenue you follow in life. I would very much like the Foundation to be in a position to channel people into some form of employment within the industry.
Supporters
(Golfing Herald): Knowing you as I do, I am sure that in a few years’ time, we will see the first tranche of young people graduating from the Foundation and securing a variety of roles linked to golf. If I may, I would like to return to something you said earlier, in that the Foundation has already received some golf equipment. Was that achieved through your contacts and relationships built up prior to your accident?
(Gary): It was … but the contributions from Puma Golf, Golf News 24 and the Golf Foundation have very much come on the back of buying into the concept and values of the Gary Day Foundation, which for me makes their support so much better.
Feedback
(Golfing Herald): And now that you have some golf equipment, what feedback have you received so far from the children and young adults who have attended a session facilitated by your Foundation?
(Gary): The feedback has been brilliant. The (refugee) children love it and sometimes some go absolutely balmy! When they see me walking in with the golf equipment they just go wild with excitement and really enjoy what I am trying to do and teach.
(Golfing Herald): That is just fantastic … can I sign up? Seriously though, that must be so rewarding and knowing that they must really be looking forward to the next session.
(Gary): Exactly … just great to have that unconditional enthusiasm.
Wider Horizons
(Golfing Herald): At the moment you are rightly establishing the embryonic Foundation, working with the local councils and schools, but do you have plans to expand further afield?
(Gary): Very much so … and as you know I am a massive thinker. Whenever I end up sitting down somewhere, my mind is always coming up with different thoughts and ideas. Then all of a sudden after a bit of research, I am sending an introductory email to someone to explain what the Foundation is all about … it will take time but expanding the reach is certainly the plan.
Ambassador
(Golfing Herald): You recently announced via social media the appointment of the first Ambassador for the Gary Day Foundation, namely (Leeds-based) professional boxer Jack Bateson.
(Gary): That’s right … and I was absolutely delighted that Jack accepted the role. He will be helping in promoting the Foundation, its benefits and values, alongside representation at various events when his fighting commitments allow. His appointment is a terrific boost for the Foundation … as a title-winning professional already, and a promising career in the making, his dedication and commitment to his profession demonstrate exactly what the Foundation stands for, and we aim to unite both disciplines into the Foundation to help continue enhancing lives across Leeds and beyond.
Charity Events
(Golfing Herald): To finish, I must mention the brilliant charity events you have organised, two of which I have been able to attend. The first was ‘An Evening with Lee Sharpe’, the ex-Manchester United, Leeds and England footballer and most recently ‘An Evening with Nigel Martyn’, the ex-Leeds and England goalkeeper. Both were great evenings. … not only the Q&A with the footballers but the very funny stand-up comedians (Lea Roberts and Jed Stone), and the silent auctions for some incredible sporting memorabilia … not to mention the food! And of course, the evening with Nigel Martyn generated funds for your Foundation.
(Gary): Your kind words are much appreciated. Yes, there is a lot of organising and planning required for this type of event, but that is something I really thrive on … and it is incredibly rewarding when so many people support the events and (hopefully) have a great time. And as you say, they generate an infusion of funds for the Foundation.
The Nineteenth
(Golfing Herald): Gary, a great way to finish. I look forward to watching your Foundation grow and flourish over the coming months and years and that one day, some of the children gain employment within the golfing industry.
If you wish to read more about Gary and/or his Foundation then please visit …
Meet the Professional – Gary Day
Anything is Possible – Interview with BBC Radio Leeds (might not be available outside of the UK)
Acknowledgement
And finally, a massive thanks to Gary Day and the Gary Day Foundation for permitting Golfing Herald to use the …
- photograph of Gary playing at the 2006 Open Championship.
- image of the Gary Day Foundation Logo.
- photographs from ‘An Evening with Nigel Martyn’ charity event.
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