Gary Day Foundation: Professional golfer from Leeds who stopped playing after stroke now helping young players

The stroke in 2015 left Gary unable to use to his left arm and walk properly and he spent the next few years of his life in multiple hospitals and in various stages of rehabilitation. Gary said: “It was obviously extremely difficult times, because alongside having the initial stroke, I then had to go through the ensuing surgeries and such.

"I was in hospital to try and rectify what had gone on upstairs, I was kind of coming to terms with all that as opposed to thinking about my golf playing side of things. It was gonna be difficult to return to a playing career, certainly, but if the truth be known, I've always been a very, very strong and positive person. I think I've inherited that from golf.”

Gary found himself taking golf more seriously and getting involved with clubs and tournaments in his teenage years and soon knew he wanted to build a career out of his hobby. He qualified as a PGA professional in 1999 and began competing and touring, which not only took him across the country but also Europe, Asia and Africa.

He said: “That's one thing about golf. It's given me so many of opportunities and experiences that I wouldn't ordinarily have had. I think that travelling to the likes of South Africa and Asia opened my eyes a lot to the different cultures. That was brilliant and it’ll forever stay in my mind.”

Expenses involved in the sport as well as a recurring injury to his wrist meant that Gary made the decision to step away from playing competitively in 2008. He said: “It was always on the back of my mind, especially when I was getting ready to head out some far afield destination. The last thing I wanted to do was to arrive somewhere and then my wrist injury flare up, which would stop me from playing.”

He began to head Cookridge Hall Golf Club alongside his friend before his stroke just short of a decade later. Gary said: “I've made huge strides in being able, as I say, to return back home. I started to reconstruct some form of lifestyle, getting out as best I could – and with that brings strength in itself as in physical strength alongside psychological strength.”

Volunteering at a St Gemma’s Hospice retail shop proved helpful at the time as it provided him with purpose and kept him active and Gary began to look ahead. “I thought, ‘What can I do now with my life? I need to find something to do. Golf has played a huge part in my life from such a young age, and certainly through my teenage adult years. I've learned and experienced so much that I didn't want all that just to go to waste.”

He wanted to do something that would invite young people, especially those with learning difficulties and physical disabilities to access the sport. Gary added: “I launched the Gary Day Foundation to also teach them all the life skills that come with the game of golf which I've been party to since my development years. It's a huge thing and it's been working really, really well.”

Recently, the foundation held a 12-week programme teaching asylum seekers and refugees all about the sport. Gary said: “It's been terrific, they've learned new skills. I've seen the change in the personalities of some of them, the confidence that it's presented them with. We've built a fantastic relationship with them now, to the extent where the kids invite us to their Christmas party.”

Gary and his colleagues also celebrated Eid with them. Gary said: “It’s great because we can connect on not only just a familiar face and friendship level but also on the cultural level. It's terrific and it is really a great experience for me so long may it continue.”

The Gary Day Foundation, launched in 2022, also uses its funds to reinvest into its local community. It has recently started supporting the Guiseley Senior Citizens Association. Gary said: “That’s what makes it worthwhile. It's not just a case of giving them cash. It's is providing for providing them with ways and means to generate their own cash as well. We are set up to help and configure community projects where we can.”

Find out more on the Gary Day Foundation website.