Roland Garros golfers

Roland Garros golfers

A close link between two “cousin” disciplines. The players and former professional tennis players, some of them entered at Roland-Garros, have a real passion for the little white ball.

Rafael Nadal in search of a 12th coronation at Roland Garros and Novak Djokovic, the world number one, perfectly illustrate this link which unites golf and tennis. They sometimes make 18 holes between tournaments. Many alumni also nurture a real passion, like Guy Forget, Yannick Noah and Amélie Mauresmo, among the most famous.

Similarities in the gestures

 Former player turned coach, Olivier Patience has already competed in the qualifications for the French Golf Open. It must be said that he started golf at the same time as tennis, at the age of five, before making a career on the courts. Two similar disciplines with some differences, however.

Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, June 10, 2018.
Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, June 10, 2018 (MEHDI TAAMALLAH / NURPHOTO)

“There is already the movement of a golf swing that looks like a tennis forehand, even if, for one, the ball is on the ground, and for the other, at hip height. There are similarities in the engagement with the arms, with the hips, on the other hand it is very different in the management of the effort.

In golf, there are long walks, long stretches of hitting very few shots, while in tennis we hitting a lot of balls. In actual time, in golf, we hit maybe a minute over four and a half hours, and that leaves time to think and ask a lot of questions, too many perhaps, it's quite different on that " .

The Australian Scott Draper has the distinction of having played a few professional golf tournaments at the end of his tennis career. The physical intensity is not the same in these two disciplines.

Tiger Woods is excellence

This does not prevent players and former tennis players from admiring their professional golf cousins, and a player in particular for Nicolas Escudé, winner of the Davis Cup in 2001.

“I will inevitably say Tiger Woods because it is he who succeeded in exploding, in making golf shine, at the international and world level like few players; in addition, when we see him return to the level that is his, like a Michael Jordan in basketball, these are icons that make so many people dream, that inevitably that makes them much more popular, and then it is excellence. . When we see a Tiger Woods, a Roger Federer playing in tennis, we tend to say to ourselves, come on, I'm going to buy myself a racquet or a golf bag, I'm going tomorrow, it's super easy. In fact, it's much more complicated than that. "


Once Roland-Garros is over, enthusiasts will be able to turn to another great event a week later. The US Open of Golf at Pebble Beach, Calif., June 13 - June 16.

  • No comments yet.
  • Add your comment
    See also