Born from the creative spirit of the two great architects Hubert Chesneau and Robert Van Hagge, the Golf National began to emerge at the end of the 1980s. CEO of the company which participated in its construction, Michel Benedetti is the one of the other fathers of the course which will host the 42nd edition of the Ryder Cup next fall. In "Parcours de Lumières", the Event Book by photographer Claude Rodriguez published by Editions S&CO, he testifies to the strong moments of the creation of a real golf stadium and to the emotions aroused by this jewel which will soon see the best players in the world.

  • © Claude Rodriguez

The 2018 HNA Open de France, which will take place in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines from June 28 to July 1, will be the first of the two major events of the year at the Golf National. A full-size dress rehearsal a few weeks before the Ryder Cup (September 25-30), the largest and most famous competition ever to be held in France. The course of the Albatross, towards which the eyes of the whole world will soon be riveted, is the work - in particular - of Michel Benedetti.

"The construction of the Golf National in 1988 was a true story of heart and passion", He explains. “It was born from a great adventure during which we had to be able, with the architects Hubert Chesneau and Robert Van Hagge, to imagine transforming a ground as smooth as a billiard ball into a golf stadium. He's our baby. We spent our days and nights finding the right solutions. Every day, up to 1 trucks came to dump the rubble in the Paris region in order to erect mounds and shape the routes. "

Decades later, the emotion of Michel Benedetti is still the same when he goes to the Golf National. “I am always completely confused when I go back there as the environment changes. From a smooth and gloomy ground, the Golf National has matured and is now beautifully landscaped. It's like a painting that we would have done in black and white and that we would find in color. We see it in a beautiful green, weathered, well integrated into the environment ... These same emotions are reflected when we browse the book “Parcours de Lumières” in which Claude Rodriguez manages very well to capture, in his photos, the shadows , the lights and the colors that illuminate the courses. "

Intended for amateurs of the little white ball, the book “Parcours de Lumières” presents more than 100 photos taken during nearly 24 years on the National Golf. On the occasion of the HNA Open de France 2018, two gift boxes will be published and offered on the Village of official Golf National partners.

In the meantime, it is available on the site www.parcoursdelumieres.com where the first 20 of the 142 pages of the book are available on-line.