Former Luton Town captain Tom Lockyer has found an unexpected source of focus and recovery in golf. After serious health challenges reshaped his outlook, the game has become both a physical outlet and a mental reset — offering calm, purpose and a new long-term passion beyond football.
For most of his career, football has been the defining focus of Tom Lockyer’s life. But away from the pitch, the former Luton Town captain has found another passion that brings balance and perspective — golf.
Following his recent health challenges, the game has become an important outlet, helping him stay active, focused and connected. Although Lockyer dabbled with the game as a teenager, it wasn’t until after Covid that his love for golf really took hold.
“I was playing on and off as a kid through secondary school but never really took it seriously. It was only post-Covid once I joined Luton Town and there was a golf school that I really started taking it seriously,” he says.
Since then, golf has become more than just a pastime, it’s a source of focus, calm and healthy competition alongside his football career.
“I love being outside in nature first and foremost. It’s a great escape from reality as such and I really love the game, whether that’s a match against someone else or going out trying to shoot as low as possible.”
Recently, he hit a hole-in-one at Bearwood Lakes. He revealed: “It was a nine-iron into a little wind off the left. It pitched a yard past and spun back in. That was one of the best feelings, as it was in as soon as it left the club.”
He even jokes about the timing: “Luckily we were a late tee-off and the bar was empty when we got back!”
And while football remains his career, golf has become the passion he plans to pursue long after his playing days end. “I’ve always said that when I retire from football, my first goal will be to get to scratch,” he says. “I’ve started the process already but it’s not my main focus at the moment.”
Following his cardiac arrest, golf became more than a pastime – it became part of Lockyer’s recovery journey. Just a month after the incident, he returned to the course with a friend.
“Golf was one of the first things that I did following my cardiac arrest. I went out with my mate Trev around Woburn about a month after. It was great to get out in nature and play some golf. It’s a place once you’re out there that you don’t really think about much else.”
Even while undergoing treatment in Amsterdam, golf came with him. “I was there for about four months in total,” he explains. “But the first thing I packed was my golf clubs! I found Europe’s biggest golf practice facility, and I used to regularly go after training and hospital visits to work on my game.”
Golf, he says, has been a huge help both mentally and physically.
“I very rarely get angry at bad shots, and I love being outside in the nature of a beautiful golf course.”
It’s also a sport he’d recommend to anyone, regardless of health or ability.
“I would recommend golf to anyone. It has fully got me hooked; I’m mentally and physically obsessed with the game. I cannot get enough of it!”