Wednesday 23 May 2018 19:12, UK
The star-studded Pro-Am ahead of the BMW PGA Championship featured a huge variety of high-profile celebrities, and Nick Dougherty believes their passion for golf can have a huge impact on the game ...
Having the calibre of sporting stars and celebrities definitely attracts people through the gates that wouldn't normally come to a golf tournament. Too many people still regard the sport of golf as an "old man's game", and they are reluctant to give it a chance. But that's where the Pro-Am at Wentworth can help widen the audience.
Let's take Pep Guardiola for example. He's a football idol worldwide after an incredibly successful career as a player and manager. Pep is a very popular figure, so to see him here playing alongside Tommy Fleetwood can only be good for the game.
And then people realise he's not the only golf fan among a whole host of famous, successful footballers who take every opportunity to get the clubs out and get on the course, and many of them are here this week.
The variety of celebrities who play in the Pro-Am every year stretches far and wide, but is watching Damian Lewis playing golf going to tempt his fans to give the sport a go? Well, it can't do any harm can it?
If people still regard golf as stereotypically stuffy, to see someone "cool" like Damian Lewis play the game will open the game up. Yes, there will doubtless be people here just to be close to the star of shows like Homeland and Billions, but, because they are here, there's the opportunity for them to see how much these actors, singers and sports stars enjoy golf.
It's the ideal chance to steer people away from stereotypes and predetermined opinions and showcase golf for what it is - a great sport for all. The game is obviously challenging, and I can't think of any other sport that is more difficult to get to grips with as a beginner. But there's nothing like that surge of adrenaline when you hit one straight out of the middle or hole a great putt.
Another unlikely, high-profile golf fan is DJ Locksmith from Rudimental. I watched what he did here with Andrew "Beef" Johnston a while ago, when he was very much a beginner. And it was clear that he was falling in love with the game very quickly, so many of his fans can do the same.
Music stars don't come much cooler than him right now, so it's another positive sign to see him posting so many pictures and videos from the golf course and the range on his social media platforms.
Guys like DJ Locksmith can have a huge impact in terms of attracting new golfers, and the same can be said of everyone competing in the Pro-Am at Wentworth. It makes people sit up and pay attention, and even if they're not here, they can watch the stars at home.
It's a chance for us to persuade people to take up the game, not just entertain our core audience of golf fans. There will be some keen golfers who might not be interested in going to watch a 14-handicapper playing live at Wentworth, they'd rather watch Rory McIlroy in action.
But that's not the point. I think it's a lot of fun to watch the celebs having fun alongside the pros, and many of them will feel the pressure to perform perhaps more than in their chosen sport.
Michael Carrick played his last match for Manchester United earlier this month and I played with him at the United golf day, and he admitted he was extremely nervous - although he didn't quite word it like that!
He's a guy who's performed week in, week out in the Premier League and for England, under intense pressure, but in a different environment he's got different nerves to battle.
There's always the chance that people will come out in force to watch Pep Guardiola play golf, but then they'll see Tommy Fleetwood hitting the ball miles and that could also trigger new interest in the game.
I think you need minimal experience to understand the difference between a good amateur and a professional. A lot of the celebrities here this week are very good players, and having watched Pep for a bit this morning it's clear he can play.
An inexperienced player might have seen Pep strike a decent blow off the first tee and maybe wondered how he did that. But then they'd see Fleetwood striping it and sending his ball almost out of sight, and even if you're new to the game, you'll know he has a special talent.
It's hard to describe the gulf in difference between a good amateur and a top professional, and sometimes you can only really appreciate it when you see them live.
You can hear that appreciation in the gallery when they see the swing, hear the sound and watch the ball flight. And by coming to watch the stars on show in the Pro-Am, when the professionals are more relaxed, you can see and hear the difference first hand and it's something to behold.
