What happens when a kid from Stevenage, England trades his football studs for a set of golf clubs?
In the case of Jamie Rutherford, that move kindled a passion for the game and a competitive spirit that has since turned into a professional career.
We caught up with Jamie during a quick stop at home as he gears up for a busy schedule of Challenge Tour and DP World Tour events in Europe.
On learning to play golf
I joined the local golf club with my dad when I was about 12 years old, and it was nice timing because a lot of other young juniors were joining at the same time. I’ve always been a big football fan, and I played that as a kid.
Football was my big passion, but the timing of having lots of friends all joining together at the same time really sparked my interest in golf. I just couldn’t wait to get to the golf club. I’d take every opportunity after school when the weather was good.
As I got better and better, I fell more in love with it.
On getting a taste for competition
My best friend from school joined the golf club around the same time I did, and almost straight away we were competing with each other. We were always keeping score, and if his handicap dropped a little bit lower than mine, I needed to get my handicap lower than his.
As I progressed, then it was someone else who was a little older than me who I was chasing to get better than. The competitiveness was a big part of why I loved golf, because I’ve always loved competing, whether it was in football, golf, or other sports.
On wanting to compete professionally
As a junior golfer, I wasn’t necessarily one of the best. I started quite late as a 12 year old, and a lot of the top juniors in my local county were already very good golfers by that age.
It wasn’t until I was around 18 that I had a big jump in my progression. That year I made some big improvements and started playing in the national amateur scene and started having good results.
From that point, playing professionally was always my goal.
On the realities of touring
The image of golf is you go play a four hour round and that’s your day. The all-encompassing nature of competitive golf can be surprising.
In reality, you’re probably allowing two hours before a round to warm up, then you play a five hour round, then warm down, practice, and go to the gym. You could be playing five tournaments in a row in five different countries, traveling Monday, playing Tuesday through Sunday.
On keeping mentally and physically strong
I like to separate the golf and the off-course side of traveling.
It’s helpful to create a nice environment with who you travel with or who you try to spend your time with.
The guys I travel with are some of my best friends and even though we’re competing against each other, we’re on this same journey together. When we’re back at the house or at dinner, we’ll watch football or another sport that’s going on and try not to talk too much about golf.
On superstitions and lucky charms
I say I’m not overly superstitious, but when I think about it I’m fairly superstitious. If there’s an outfit I play well in, the next week I’m wearing that on Sunday.
I also have four or five different ball markers that I cycle through, and as soon as I have a bad round, I move that one ball marker to the bottom of the pile.
When it comes to routines and preparation, I’m trying to stay focused on golf and unattached from everything else as I can. If I’m in contention to win a tournament, I’m trying to treat it the same as when I’m teeing off on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.
On life at home
Like I mentioned, I’m a big football fan. Tottenham Hotspurs are my team, so I’ve got a season ticket, my dad’s got a season ticket. I try to go to games when I’m back home and have an opportunity. Otherwise, when I’m home I treat golf just like a normal job Monday to Friday.
On staying comfortable on and off the course
The biggest factor about Turtleson apparel is that I feel great when I’m wearing the clothes.
When you’re wearing nice clothes, you feel like you look good in them.
The comfort and quality is so high. It’s the best golf clothing I’ve worn in terms of feel, quality and fit.
We're proud to be Jamie's apparel partner and look forward to plenty of great play as his career progresses. Browse our collection of performance golf polos to find the gear to enable your game.