You train many high-level French players * at the Saint-Donat golf course in the Alpes-Maritimes. Do you often travel alongside them during a season?

I have been self-employed for two years, but when I was a federal coach I followed my players through 20 to 30 tournaments each year. In 2019, I had to go to about 5 tournaments, but next year I should do 10 or 1 maximum. I don't want to go to America anymore and take long trips. It will also depend on my players, because they are the ones bearing the costs. If I have only one player in Abu Dhabi, for example, I won't go, they have to be at least two or three. In any case, the basic work is done in Saint-Donat, where the facilities are excellent. At the practice, we play with Pro VXNUMXs on high quality grass.

How would you define your coaching method?

I am building on what has worked for years. First, there are the basics, the grip, the installation in front of the ball, the posture, the routine, everything that happens before. I intervene very little during the swing - except perhaps the waggle which gives the take away - and a lot at the end of the swing. I also work a lot in relation to the trajectory of the ball.

What do you mean?

Rather than changing a player's swing, I'm going to try to make them play on a different trajectory from their tendency. If anyone is having trouble hitting a draw, I'll try to figure out why. Nine times out of ten, the errors come just from all that precedes the swing, the installation, the posture… If a player has a weak grip, I make sure that he takes a good grip on his own by modifying his way of playing, without touching his hands. I don't need to work with a trackman since the ball gives us all the essential info.

What is the most common defect among amateurs?

The basics precisely and in particular how to put the club in front of the ball. The face too open, the club twisted, the handle too far forward or backward, I see everything and that distorts everything else. They are generally very good at watching videos on the Internet but much less good at posing the clubface correctly (laughs).

And the most common defect among pros?

With the young pros, it's the same thing, it affects all the indexes. For high-level players, it is more the tendency to get lost, to go rummaging right to left when things are not going well, not to accept periods of lows, which are however inevitable. If they miss 2-3 cuts, they will tend to question everything, to change everything, to try something else. But let's not kid ourselves: they just go backward or waste time and sooner or later they always revert to their old system and their original swing.

Where does your nickname come from, the Druid?

This dates from the time when Victor (Dubuisson) was at the top. I had given a long TV interview in Dubai. It was very hot and as I was sheltered under a tree ... it started from there (Laughter).

It seems that you hardly play golf anymore ...

Over the past fifteen years, I have had to do an average of 9 holes twice each year. I don't really have time. And when I have some, I take care of my garden, I go pick mushrooms… That said, I started to re-hit the ball three months ago, I redid all my grips which were very dusty. But I prefer to focus on my players rather than my game. If I play with them, they will put me 70 meters at the drive and that will annoy me (laughs). And then I have big problems with my feet, that's why I stopped my playing career. I had tendonitis, aponeurosis, torn tendons, I had two operations, I had plasma injections. I must have seen about fifteen different podiatrists in my life.

Who are the high level French players that you have coached?

There are many, I have 11 victories on the European circuit with my players, including 4 with Stéphanie Arricau, 2 with Virginie Lagoutte and Jade Schaeffer, there are also Gwladys Nocera, Isabelle Boineau… Today, I do not know 'occupies more than two players: Lucie Malchirand and the Moroccan Maha Haddioui.

In recent years, especially for men, we have witnessed a race for power. What do you think should be done to stem this phenomenon which distorts the game and makes certain courses look old?

The material has evolved a lot, especially the woods which have gained in tolerance. Players can “tear themselves up” more than before. Sleeve length is excessive. The players are also real athletes now. But there are some that transform in six months and become mirrored cabinets. It's a bit scary, at 50 what will become of them? Some even do several weight training sessions a day! To counteract this trend, we will have to prepare the courses differently, close the entrances to the green, prevent cutting the lines… We will also have to tighten the rules, limit the size of the clubs, the length of the sleeves and the trampoline effect of the faces. or even play with decompressed balls. This would allow certain routes not to be exceeded. But the big hitters will always hit farther than the rest no matter what.

What is your best memory as a coach?

(He thinks) The first victory, the year when Stéphanie Arricau won the French Open for women and Jean-François Remesy the following week for men (In 2004). But all victories are beautiful. I must total a dozen on the European circuit for men, ten for girls, and not far from thirty on the Challenge Tour. With the victories, succeeding in getting my players on the European Tour is without doubt what gives me the most emotion. In total, I had to bring about fifteen players to the European circuit and four of them, in 2019 alone (Grégory Havret, Adrien Saddier, Antoine Rozner and Robin Roussel). It was a strong moment.

Interview by Franck Crudo.

* In particular Victor Dubuisson, Grégory Havret, Mathieu Pavon, Adrien Saddier, Julien Quesne, Romain Langasque, Robin Roussel, Antoine Rozner for men, Lucie Malchirand for women.

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