Each week, in its “Off-field” section,
20 Minutes
explores new, unexpected, unusual, ingenious or booming spaces for expressing sport.
We are interested this Friday in the practice of street golf.
A sport that intrigues in the heart of cities.
It is also a state of mind, with street golfers who claim freedom in their practice.
A Sunday morning, 11 a.m., in the heart of Nantes.
The famous Elephant of the Machines of the Island comes out of the naves, and the few visitors who come for a walk come to admire the spectacle of this gigantic robotic mammal, which has become one of the symbols of the city.
Not far from there, a ball suddenly takes off.
"Oh, she's off to a good start," exclaims Guillaume.
His presence, alongside his son and his friend Frédéric, questions passers-by.
It must be said that the people of Nantes hit golf balls, equipped with their clubs and a trolley.
A comical scene to say the least, to which these street golfers are accustomed.
"There shouldn't be too many people.
Because sometimes people look at us a little strangely.
They ask us what we are doing there and if we have the right to play here”, says Guillaume Le Mével,
Some residents, more curious, stop when they meet Guillaume and his gang.
Until trying a few swings.
Others are more reluctant to see a golf ball flying overhead.
It must be said that this practice of street golf is intriguing.
“They look at us with wide eyes and wonder what we're doing with our golf club in the street.
Before having fun with his club on the Île de Nantes, Guillaume discovered this sport in Morlaix, in Brittany, with the association Putters Morlaix United (PMU, it can't be invented), which has become Street golf at l 'west.
Frédéric Eliès is now its president.
“But where is the hole?
»
Born in Germany in the 1990s, street golf has gradually arrived in France, especially in major cities.
Originally, German players practiced street golf in disused areas, with real golf balls.
Now, semi-rigid balls are used, allowing street golfers to play anywhere, without damaging anything, and above all, without hurting anyone.
Because this urban sport is based on a fundamental principle: freedom.
Before being a sport, street golf is above all a state of mind: "You go out when you want to hit balls, and a little where you want", summarize Guillaume and Frédéric, for whom the city has become a playground. As for the rules, they are ultimately not so different from those of golf.
It's always about reaching an objective by making the fewest possible moves.
"Often, people's first question is: 'Where is the hole?'
laughs William.
No hole for street golfers.
But targets specified upstream by the players.
Benches, garbage cans, lampposts, panels… All street furniture becomes a target.
Sometimes players have fun adding bonuses, with the furniture available.
“For example, a trash can may be the end goal.
And if the ball ends up in it, it's -1”,
says William.
“Everything is a goal.
The only limit is just our imagination.
We invent our course, we do exactly what we want, without barriers,” says Fred.
Brittany, London and 13th arrondissement
Suddenly, the playgrounds of these urban golfers are multiple.
A practice which also allows them to discover other cities, through the French championship, back on April 30, after two years of interruption due to the health crisis.
For the recovery, a dozen street golf associations met in Brittany, in a totally unusual place, chosen by the Street golf association in the west.
The first round of the French championship will take place on Callot Island, in Carantec (Finistère).
A peninsula accessible only at low tide!
And therefore a new playground.
"We try to make the competitors travel a little by taking them to this kind of place", indicates Frédéric Eliès.
Lille, Lyon, Paris, Tours, Reims, Lens, Strasbourg or Grenoble will also be there.
About 200 street golfers come from all over France to take part in these stages.
Moreover, France still holds the title of world champion, obtained in 2018. A World Cup which brings together mainly European countries, as well as India, where this sport has broken through.
France and Germany remain the two strong nations.
Guillaume is also part of the France team.
In ten years of competition, street golf has allowed him to play in more unusual places than each other.
From the stands of the Villeneuve-d'Ascq stadium to the former Olympic Park in London.
Guillaume and Fred also remember a competition in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.
“We were playing in the middle of the cars.
The police arrived because someone had complained.
»
Democratize a practice
Here, no shopping cart, but rather a pack of beers never far from the trolley.
Golf clubs are bought second-hand and the atmosphere is generally not quiet.
In short, street golf is far from the standards of golf.
Guillaume, he started with the street before trying his hand at
practice
: “It is often the golfers who have the most critical view of the street.
For some, golf is on a green and that's it.
They prefer to think outside the box.
A way also to democratize a sport sometimes perceived as reserved for a certain social category.
“We are trying to open it up more to the general public.
That's the goal of the game, to get out a little bit on the "prout prout" side, darts, ”laughs Fred, who also practices both sports in Nantes.
"It's the street that made me love golf," he says.
Two very distinct golf practices.
Especially since street golf is not attached to the French Golf Federation (FFG).
The Sports Federation of Street Golf (FFSG) was created in 2018. Benoîst Richard, a fan of urban golf with Urban Green Lille, has been its president since 2020. “The objective is to federate street golf associations structured around a championship.
It is also a way to standardize our rules, ”explains the one who is used to playing downstairs from his home, in Lille.
It's a state of mind.
But there are cities where golf courses are not easily accessible”.
Our off-road file
For this, discussions between the two federations began a year ago.
History to tame a little.
“There are little things that are being built, our discipline interests them”, indicates the president, also a member of the France team.
He discovered this practice eight years ago.
“I met guys who were playing at 2 a.m. in Lille.
Since then, I have never stopped.
Where you want, when you want: a game philosophy that fits perfectly with street golf.
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