Staff WriterCarly Telford has spent a career making saves with her hands and her nerve; now Telford is trying something even trickier — changing minds. England Golf has welcomed the former England and Chelsea goalkeeper as a Game Changer, part of a new push to show the sport as safe, inclusive, sustainable, and, crucially, worth your Saturday.
For the record, this isn’t a ceremonial photo-op where someone holds a club like it’s a garden rake and hopes nobody notices. Telford has already stepped into the game properly via iGolf — England Golf’s platform for independent golfers — and she’s approaching the sport with the same competitive spark that carried her through 27 caps for the Lionesses and major tournaments across World Cups, European Championships and the Olympic Games.
Retirement, for elite athletes, can feel like being politely ejected from your own identity. One day you’re on a training pitch with purpose; the next you’re wondering if the kettle counts as cardio. Telford discovered golf after stepping away from professional football and has spoken openly about what it gave her: flexibility, motivation, and a fresh arena to compete in — without the weekly body blows that come with being a goalkeeper at the highest level.
From penalty boxes to tee boxes
England Golf’s Game Changers campaign launched in September 2025, bringing together influential figures from sport and society to champion golf’s physical, mental and social benefits. It’s also designed to do something golf has sometimes struggled with: look up from its own shoelaces and welcome people who don’t already know the secret handshake.
Telford’s journey from pitch to fairway fits the brief neatly. She’s lived the women’s sport conversation from the inside — the progress, the pressure, the visibility, the responsibility — and she’s not pretending golf is perfect. The point is that it can be better, and it can be for more people, without losing what makes it special.
And in classic fashion, her love affair with the game began with a raised eyebrow.
She said: “When my dad was playing all the time, I couldn’t think of anything worse! But now I’ve picked it up, I want to tell as many women and girls about this great game that they might not hear enough about.
“It’s about how we show that it’s a safe space for women, and to show that it’s an incredible community which you mightn’t have found before. It gets you outdoors, you get to meet new people, you get to network, you get to exercise, and I think you get to wear cool clothes!
“For me, being a Game Changer is really applicable as I do want to change the game and make women and girls fall in love with this beautiful sport.
“Growing women in sport isn’t something I signed up to do intentionally but it’s something I was able to do through the love of the game. Football was such a powerful sport for me and since finding golf – I’ve fallen in love with it and I want to show how it can create a community, a space where you can talk to each other as women, and that it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, there’s a space for you.
“That’s the most important thing – whether you’re on the driving range learning, or on the course with your pals – that’s the space I want to progress and show women and girls how to do that is super important.”
If you’ve ever wondered what separates a token ambassador from someone who means it, it’s lines like “it doesn’t matter how good or bad you are, there’s a space for you.” That’s the message golf needs to repeat until it becomes boring — because boring is what “normal” looks like.
iGolf, independence, and the modern way in
A lot of people love the idea of golf but not the old-fashioned gates around it — the sense that you must belong somewhere, know someone, or fit a certain mould before you’re allowed to enjoy yourself. iGolf is built for the golfer who wants the freedom to play on their own terms, and Telford’s involvement there matters because it reflects how sport is changing. People aren’t waiting to be invited anymore; they’re finding their way in.
That shift is where Carly Telford becomes especially useful to England Golf. She’s recognisable to football fans, credible to athletes, and refreshingly direct about what makes golf appealing: fresh air, movement, community, a new challenge — and yes, the kit.
A campaign with teeth, not just hashtags
As part of her role, Telford will support England Golf’s ongoing campaigns to empower women and girls, promote sustainability, and encourage participation at every level. Expect her story to be told through events, media and digital platforms — not as a glossy “look who’s holding a club” moment, but as an invitation to anyone who’s assumed golf wasn’t for them.
Because that assumption still lingers. Golf, at its worst, can feel like a private conversation you weren’t meant to hear. At its best, it’s a walk, a challenge, a laugh, a reset button — and an oddly addictive lesson in humility delivered by a small white ball with an attitude problem.
England Golf believes that with influential figures like Telford championing the sport, the Game Changers initiative can help spark a new era of inclusivity and growth. That’s the ambition: keep the traditions that make golf golf, ditch the nonsense that keeps people out, and make the welcome as loud as the silence between shots.
If you’re a woman or girl who’s been curious but hesitant, Telford’s message is plain: start where you are. Driving range. Short course. Nine holes with friends. However you do it, there’s space — and you don’t need anyone’s permission to take it.
