automatic translation of the article published on actu.fr

In the middle of the cold in Caen, they play
golf course in front of the Town Hall
3–4 minutes
They were not afraid of anything... or especially of their hands. Scene
surreal Monday January 8, 2024 in Caen (Calvados), in front of
Abbaye-aux-Hommes, in a finally wintery climate. Around
5 p.m., two men barely bundled up and without gloves
gripped some golf clubs and hit a few balls on
the gravel esplanade of the Town Hall.
To promote urban golf
While marveling at the light of the setting sun on the
Ferris wheel and the Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux church, they competed
for more than half an hour. They made a vent their
target to reach it in as few shots as possible. To this little
game, Éric Nguyen Khac was more skillful than his
accomplice François Renard. And for good reason, the advertiser was
captain of the French team, world champion of
street golf, or urban golf, in 2018.
“I’ve been playing street golf for 20 years,” he confides between two
balls. “A passion that made me discover dozens of
cities in France and Europe during competitions on
ephemeral journeys,” he adds on his Linkedin profile.
This practice just needs to be developed to makediscover golf and offer urban residents a new activity
physical and playful proximity.
“Not just a sport for the rich”
With François Renard, he is working on this by offering cities
9 or 18 hole turnkey courses. After Mourning
Barre (Val d’Oise) in 2022 and Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor) in 2022
last, will Caen be the third to be tempted?
The two promoters of urban golf have started their lobbying
this Monday. In front of City Hall, they met for
first time two deputies to the mayor of Caen, Nicolas Joyau
(urban planning) and Aristide Olivier (youth and sports). And pushed it
demonstration until they play. For Eric Nguyen Khac,
“the objective is to democratize this sport”, to show both
that “it’s not just a sport for the rich” and that “it’s still
golf, even if we are not in nature.”
Already “3 or 4 courses” in the lead in Caen
For them, street golf is simple. Against their identity document
and a dump, participants could borrow
free bags with clubs,
special bullets (less hard, lighter) and a notebook with
QR Code accessing the plan and the rules of the game and security.
Throughout the city, the routes would be marked by terminals and
starting areas painted on the ground. The idea is to touch
elements of urban furniture (benches, baskets,
gutters, stair railings, statues, etc.) in a minimum of
blows. No damage, with bonuses.
Videos: currently on Actu
Éric Nguyen Khac has family ties to Caen. " This cityinspires me. » After “an immersion of around ten days”,
François Renard and he would be ready to draw “3 or 4
course ". Where ? “The university campus, around the castle,
on the Presqu’île, Place Saint-Sauveur or the Gardin district. »