“I just knew I shouldn't have gone”: Amy Boulden speaks on retiring from golf at 31 years old

Amy Boulden, a former amateur star turned professional golfer, retired from the sport at 31 years old. Golf is one of the few sports that athletes can play for a very long time and many pick it up in retirement, but Boulden walked away at a relatively young age.

Boulden ascended to the Ladies European Tour and won Rookie of the Year, but things didn't continue on that trajectory from there. She had a few frustrating seasons following the 2014 campaign and eventually retired from pro golf earlier this week.

The Welsh golfer said via Golf Monthly that she considered retiring last season. When Boulden thought of it then, she'd get "a little bit upset" and wasn't ready to walk away.

Then, towards the end of last season, she struggled mentally, and her game was suffering. The golfer pondered whether or not to go back to Q-School, and when she did, it opened her eyes.

"But I went to Q-School and I just knew I shouldn't have gone. It was one of them things where I was like, 'Do you know what? You made a wrong decision here.' But, I mean, you learn, don't you?" Boulden said.

The 31-year-old admitted that watching her fellow competitors at Q-School revealed her true feelings:

"I was like, 'normally, I would be really dying to play and I wasn't.' I think that said it all then. I was like 'this is one of the biggest events in women's golf and I'm not dying to be out there competing against these girls."

Boulden believes that's when she decided it was time to hang up her clubs, and the Welsh golfer has followed through on that decision for now.

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Amy Boulden addresses initial struggles with pro career

Amy Boulden was a rising star in the amateur game and at first, that translated to LET success. The success did not continue, however, and the golfer believes she might have tried to do things too quickly back then.

Amy Boulden has officially retired (Image via Getty)

The transition wasn't difficult at first, Boulden said via Golf Monthly. The Welsh golfer got plenty of top-10 finishes in her first year despite not having full-time status on tour.

The 31-year-old said:

"So, looking back, I don't think I found the transition actually that difficult. It was more after the first couple of years when you then start thinking 'I should be doing things a bit differently. I should get myself a full-time caddy. I should get, x y, and z' and start doing things 'more professionally,' as they say."

This was a stark difference from her amateur career, where everything seemed to work better for Boulden.

"I think maybe it was after the first couple of years on tour, I then started to change things that I necessarily didn't need to. My swing being one," she said.

Amy Boulden's career never quite got back on track, and she has decided to walk away from the sport for the time being.