Posted on August 1, 2020 in News.
Sophie Giquel: "Achieving your full potential is the quest of each of us"
At 38, the former French n ° 1 Sophie Giquel now co-directs MyGolfCare, a concept that uses the benefits of golf to better manage stress and improve energy, health and performance, especially in the world of the company. For Swing Féminin, she talks about her new life and looks back on her career.
DR
Hello Sophie, you stopped your career almost two years ago now, after the French Open. For what reasons ?
I wanted to settle down, to travel less, to start a family. I did not really have the flame, the motivation… The European Tour was not in great shape at that time either.
You are now a consultant for Canal + and Golf +. Behind the microphone, do you manage to thrill in front of the exploits of your ex-colleagues as much as when you were on the greens?
I don't vibrate as much, that's normal, but I have fun, I'm more into sharing. What I like when I comment on a tournament is to make the link between what we see on TV and what I experienced on the course. If a player misses a big putt by less than a yard, many viewers will think that she has or has missed the inevitable, when they are just doing it all day. It's up to me to explain that in these situations, with the pressure, the stress, it's far from easy, even if we put these putts in each time on the putting green.
You also co-founded MyGolfCare * at the end of 2019. What is it?
With my partner Véronique Valles-Vidal (a former liberal nurse manager of a health network), we help companies, leaders, managers to better manage their stress, their energy by giving them the keys to be healthy thanks to golf. We use golf as a medium. We address ourselves to golfers, but also and above all to non-golfers, drawing a parallel between the benefits of this sport and our daily life. Managing emotions, physical activity and nutrition are levers that I have used to be successful as a professional golfer, but that anyone can use in their life, not just professional for that matter. With my experience in high level golf and that of Véronique in health, we are complementary. We have also surrounded ourselves with a multidisciplinary team: sophrologist, nutritionist, sports doctors, physical trainer.
How does this happen in practice?
We organize seminars, in a golf course or even elsewhere, around four workshops: management of thought and emotions, physical activity, nutrition and golf. The golf workshop is generally done with inflatable targets and large balls to make it accessible to everyone. We also offer workshops or conferences on the theme of well-being, health and performance. We organize days, half-days or evenings on a golf course, in a company, in unusual places… A face-to-face and digital training program is also underway.
Sophie Giquel and Véronique Valles-Vidal.
Did you already have this idea in mind during your career?
I have always had a physical and mental trainer and pay attention to my nutrition, it interested me from the start. Thinking about my retraining, I wanted to encompass and give meaning to all that, to benefit from my experience in high-level sport. Realizing your full potential and fulfilling yourself as a person is the quest of each of us. And it is in this support that I fulfill myself today.
Who are your clients?
We work with a few companies like Allianz, but we are a very young company and with the health crisis, we were rather slowed down in our momentum, this is not the ideal period. Our targets are in particular insurance companies, banks, mutual funds, pharmaceutical companies, large groups, SMEs… We will meet them soon. The idea is to make sure you feel good in your head and in your body at work and outside, because many spend entire days sitting in meetings or in front of a computer. We could thus offer a warm-up in the morning, a sophrology break around 11 am, a workshop on diet during lunch and at the end of the day, muscle regeneration based on stretching and self-massage to release tension. We can even offer this type of service remotely, due to the Covid ... We fully respond to CSR requests (Corporate social responsibility) and Sport and Health programs to act on the health of employees.
You were a member of the board of directors of the Ladies European Tour, between December 2016 and September 2019. Are you worried about the future of the women's circuit due to the current crisis?
Yes, rather. The situation, with its share of uncertainties, is difficult to manage. The LPGA is a big entity which has handled the crisis rather well, I have regular feedback thanks to my husband (Axel bettan), who is Chinese Yu Liu's shopping cart. I am especially worried about the European circuit. The fact that the LPGA took over this year gave it a second wind, but I'm afraid Americans will first try to save their skin, which is normal, before dealing with LET ...
You were gold medalist at the Mediterranean Games, multiple champion of France, French n ° 1 in 2011 and won 3 tournaments on the professional circuit. What is the best memory of your career?
In fact, I have two. First my first victory in Portugal, on the LET, in 2007, then the American cards the same year. But it was not the same feeling at all. When I win on the European Tour, I had been circling around and collecting the places of honor for several months, but it didn't want to fall. I experienced it almost as a relief. While playing on the American circuit was the fulfillment of a dream, everything opened up before me ...
How did you live this experience in the United States?
I was close to Patricia Meunier-Lebouc **, who took me under her wing. We were also friends with the Levets, who lived next door in Florida. Jean-Claude Forestier, the owner of the Vaudreuil golf course, also helped me by lending me his house in Palm Beach Garden. It was my husband who gave me the gift… In short, on paper, a lot of things were gathered to make it go well. But I took a slap at the start, because there was a big difference in level with the European circuit. And then as I was having tachycardia, I underwent a benign heart operation which went moderately: it lasted 4 hours instead of the 20 minutes planned. There were complications, I didn't play for four months. And instead of asking for a medical exemption, I kinda foolishly wanted to play live again ...
In the end, was it a disappointing experience?
Let's say it was a mixed experience. In terms of result, it was not that but I had a real pleasure to compete against the best players in the world. On the LPGA, I felt like I was playing the Evian Championship every week.
Marion Ricordeau *** confided in us two weeks ago that she had the impression of being a princess on the LPGA…
That's exactly it, everything is done to make it happen! But you know my coach was in France, my family and close friends too. I get my energy from the family, and as my results in the United States were not up to par… Besides in Florida, apart from golf, the beach and shopping, there is not much to do ...
You have the amusement parks ...
Yes, but that's not where I thrive the most (laughs)!
What is your worst memory as a golfer?
As an amateur, it was horrible ... but there is a prescription now (laughs). I was 14 and I was coached by Corinne Soulès, who coached the France team. She encouraged me to compete in the Esmond Cup, which was played at the Saint-Cloud golf course, and which was the flagship competition for young people. Most of the girls were between 18 and 20 years old. I arrive and there, in the first round, I send… 97. The shame of my life, I wanted to hide… (laughs) At the age of 20, I took my revenge by reaching the final.
And among professionals?
I remember the British Open 2011 in Carnoustie. I was super well placed, around the 10e up and I sent 80 to finish 35e. I wanted to do too well, I projected myself into the result instead of being in the present.
It is something that comes up often among top golfers, the need to be in the present. Anne Marie Palli explained to us a few days ago that in 1992, in Atlantic City, she had put in a putt of 4 meters on the 18th to be able to face in the play-off and then beat Laura Davis. And the secret to her success was that she had managed to stay focused in the moment, even if it wasn't always easy to do. When you had a really big putt to play, what was your mental process like?
I was using two parries. The first was to focus on my movement, to put all my energy on what depends on me, to do the best possible. And if that wasn't enough, I transposed myself as in training, I imagined myself on the putting green.
At the Vaudreuil golf course, Guillaume Biaugeaud confiscates his students' cellphones for two days if they miss a small putt, in order to get them used to putting under pressure… ****
Me, if I am told that I am not going to eat for two days, it will put more pressure on me than if they take my cell phone away! (laughs)
What was your strong point?
My consistency in driving. In the USA, I was ranked n ° 2 for the number of fairways affected. I wasn't a big hitter, but I've always been straight.
And your weak point?
He evolved. At the beginning it was my putting and at the end of my career it was more my precision in the green attacks.
Have you ever completed a hole-in-one?
I've done two, but never in a tournament. The first one, I was young, was on vacation with my uncle during a scramble on the golf course of Rhuys Kerver. The second, at the golf d'Albon. Otherwise, on the PIC during a French Open, I sent a ball into the water on the par 3 of 13. I replayed immediately and the ball went straight into the hole!
Who are the players that you admired?
I liked Annika Sörenstam a lot, she was very rigorous, very professional. It was an inspiration to me. I was also drawn to Phil Mickelson because he has a very creative, relaxed playing style, which my playing lacked. He too inspired me for these reasons. I also put myself in the shoes of Dustin Johnson, for his cool side, his ability to detach himself from the result, limit I-don't care, in any case it is the impression he gives.
What do you think is the most common fault among amateurs?
The lack of relaxation precisely. Most are clinging to their club, it lacks fluidity. I work a lot on this as a coach.
Interview by Franck Crudo
Grace Kim leads the JM Eagle LA Championship
Scottie Scheffler's coronation at the RBC Heritage
Chiara Tamburlini wins the Joburg Ladies Open
