Sophie Sandolo, the 2006 Lalla Meryem Cup champion, is back in action in Morocco after a long break due to injury. Here she talks about her impending book and her renewed zest for golf.
What have you been doing over the European winter?
Last year I was injured in the back so I’ve been working out to repair my injury, which is good. The Italian Open was my last event before Morocco, which I’m very happy to participate in because I won it the last time I played.
Right now in Europe it’s so cold and snowy and freezing that I’m so happy to be here. Its hot, the course is beautiful, the place is nice and we have a beautiful hotel.
What do you think about the golf course here?
I think this golf course is very different to the one we played at the Golf es-Salam but it’s quite nice, very narrow and quite competitive. It’s going to be very hard for everybody. The greens are small and the rough is high and it’s a long course. I think it’s going to be tough but good.
How confident are you in your game?
Right now I feel really happy to be here because I was not supposed to play golf again. I am happy to be fit again and just to enjoy myself.
What happened to your back?
I had many problems in a row: a double tendonitis in my shoulders, a problem with my discs, because I am made in a certain way. I am very curved in my back, which is not helping. I’ve been working a lot to improve this and now everything is good.
What are you going to do this season?
I want to play a lot so I’ve been sending requests to all the promoters and I’m really selling myself. I really want to play so I hope I will get as many invites as possible.
My book is finished. It’s a fun book about golf and it’s targeted at people who don’t know much about golf, because I really want to bring more people to golf who have no idea what they will find when they come to a golf course. It’s very light and people will probably enjoy.
Is it a novel?
It’s not a novel. It’s actually an introduction to the world of golf. It’s like a manual to introduce golf to people that don’t play. It tells people what to expect. Golf is a game where everybody can play from young to old. In the first part, once you know about golf, then you have to start to play golf, so it’s an introduction to what to expect and what to do, when you get the handicap, the way you should react on a golf course, when you should play, it’s very complete.
Does it have a title?
I had a title but I think the editor is going to change it. It’s called “Would you like to play golf with me?” It’s very provocative of course. It’s the way it has to be. Inside is a manual, an introduction to the game of golf. The publisher might be an international editor who can distribute in the UK and America. This is my major target. I am not looking for a small editor, that’s for sure.
