Golf fans in disbelief at Gareth Bale's '177 mph' ball speed at BMW PGA (?!)
Gareth Bale hits a 177mph ball speed at Wentworth, but a number of golf fans are having none of it...
Football legend Gareth Bale apparently had a ball speed of '177mph' with his tee shot down the par-5 17th at the BMW PGA Celebrity Pro-Am, only a number of golf fans are not buying the TopTracer data.
Bale, 34, was teeing it up alongside his new best bud Rory McIlroy on the famed West Course at Wentworth last Wednesday.
The former Spurs and Real Madrid winger announced his retirement from professional football at the start of the year.
That has allowed Bale to concentrate on his golf game, which now sees him own an impressive 0.5 handicap.
McIlroy spoke about Bale's game during his press conference at the BMW PGA.
"I enjoyed playing with him," said McIlroy, who went on to finish T7 at Wentworth.
"He hits it well. Like he does hit it very well. He's got a really good swing. A couple of bits he needs to tidy up around the green."
But McIlroy thinks with 16 years left on Bale's side until the over 50s Tour swings around, the Welsh wizard could make a stab of it.
"He's still got a bit of time until he turns 50 if he wants to make a go at the Senior Tour, but yeah, he's a good golfer, and we had a good time out there," added McIlroy.
Bale is due to play another round with McIlroy when the Northern Irishman returns from his mate's stag do in Mykonos.
"We're members at the same club down the road, so I'm going to play a bit of golf with him next week," confirmed McIlroy
"He's a good player. He's probably low digits to a scratch golfer. Definitely some room for improvement as well."
LEAKED: Donald worried about McIlroy on mate's stag do in Mykonos!
But back to the original story, and Bale allegedly hit a 177mph ball speed with his tee shot down the par-4 17th during his recent round with World No.2 McIlroy.
Plenty of golf fans were in total disbelief at the figure, especially given the average ball speed on the PGA Tour today is 174mph.
To put things further into perspective, McIlroy, who is the PGA Tour's longest hitter, averages a 184 mph ball speed.
A glitch in the system for Bale perhaps?!
Who knows, but he is a pro athlete after all.
The DP World Tour posted a video montage of ex-professional footballer swings from the par-5 17th, of which Bale was up first.
Former Arsenal and Southampton forward Theo Walcott was grilled, and spare a thought for scatch golfer Jimmy Bullard, who sent his tee shot into someone's back garden on the Wentworth Estate!
See how many others you can name...
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Here's how golf fans reacted:
Gareth Bale 177mph haha I always knew the ball speed displayed was ramped up. I didn't realise it was by that much though!
It can't be 177?!
These ball speeds are way out!
Genuintely those ball speeds look so fake
Theo Walcott swings like an 80 year old lady
Theo's ball speed not even close to correct!
Walcott haha!
Do you reckon Bale's ball speed is correct? What is your ball speed off the tee? Share your thoughts and comments over on the GolfMagic social media channels.
Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
