Raphaël Jacquelin - © Garmin

Amateur for only 6 years, Raphaël Jacquelin acquired the status of a very young professional player in 1995, after a title of Junior French Champion in 1993. Since then, water has flowed under the bridges and the high level athlete evolves on the European circuit with a record of champion: 3 victories on the Challenge Tour and 4 victories on the European Tour.

“I played football until the age of 13/14 in the Lyon region. My career was all mapped out. I was going to join the Olympique Lyonnais training center. But a serious knee injury put an end to his ambitions as a professional footballer. “We had to bounce back… and it was by chance that I found myself playing on a 9-hole compact near my parents' place. In no time, I was totally hooked. "

Raphaël Jacquelin - © Garmin
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Sensing the young boy's predisposition for the discipline, the golf director decides to personally initiate him into this very technical sporting activity.

“I liked the contact with the ball immediately. The sensations were there… Nothing predisposed me to become a professional player. No one in my family played golf. We all ignored the codes. The universe was totally foreign to us. A priori I had no reason to be interested in it. And yet… chance sometimes does things well! "

Whether or not he is in competition, Raphaël Jacquelin's daily life is timid. Very timid even. "Time is of the essence when you are a professional golfer", recalls the new Garmin ambassador. “I would even go so far as to say that it is central. Fundamental. " Raphaël Jacquelin trains every day. “I spend at least half the day golfing. Often in the morning. Then, I move on to physical preparation. 5 sessions per week minimum, between 1 hour and 1h30 per session. "

An implication that the champion describes as "H-24". “In golf, everything takes time. You must first go there. Then play… And even if you decide to limit your training to a 9-hole course, it takes at least 2 hours of play. Golf is a time-consuming sport. "

And in a tournament, this race against time is even stronger. “In competition, the players are timid by the referees. We have a time limit to play each shot. 40 seconds to hit the ball. 50 seconds if you are the first to go. You must also play within the time limits, otherwise the entire game may be penalized. This forces you to constantly stay in contact with the golfer in front of you. In golf, wasted seconds quickly turn into minutes. "

A game can last between 4:30 and 5 hours.

Raphaël Jacquelin, a prestigious ambassador for an elegant and racy model, just like the discipline

“I like the idea of ​​representing Garmin. Firstly, because the MARQ Golfer watch is a beautiful product. With a polished and elegant aestheticism that fits perfectly to the world of golf. Then because the on-board technology is really at the service of the golfer. "

Raphael Jacquelin

The features that impress him the most: the function "Virtual Caddy", which analyzes the player's statistics and provides him with the necessary advice to improve his performance in real time, taking into account wind speed, terrain difficulty and golfer performance. “The watch helps you select the most suitable club for each shot. "

“MARQ Golfer is equipped with data on more than 41 routes around the world,” points out Raphaël Jacquelin. With over 000 hours of battery life in GPS mode, it's crazy! Suffice to say that if you are a golfer, you can play and discover most of the courses in the world. "

Garmin MARQ Golfer - © Garmin

“Finally, the“ Distance PlaysLike ”function allows you to adjust the distance of the shot according to the height differences; “Hazard View” to view all the obstacles on the map; "AutoShot" to analyze, measure and record the detected distance achieved ... "

Off the greens… It has the features of an ultra premium tool watch. These include built-in music storage, Garmin Pay contactless payment solution, smart notifications and daily activity tracking, not to mention a heart rate sensor and pulse oximeter.

“If you add that the watch looks good, it's a great achievement for Garmin. Achieving a balance between aesthetics and technology in a golf watch is quite exceptional! I look forward to fully exploring all of its features… because I discover new features almost every day since I use it. "

For more information, visit Garmin blog or the Garmin website.

To read our last article on the same subject :

Garmin Marq Golfer: a high-end connected watch reserved for golf enthusiasts