Ahead of this week’s Porsche European Open we spoke to one of the most laid back guys on the European Tour, Benjamin Hebert, about his golf, his love for surfing, his upbringing in Tahiti, and much more...
My parents inspired me to become a sportsman.My dad was a former pentathlete and my mum a former swimmer, and they’ve been Sports Teachers for years – so growing up in that environment helped me. I played sports since I was very young. I played a lot of football and tennis when I was a kid and I discovered golf with my father 20 years ago when I was 10 years old.
It wasn’t a family sport for us – nobody in my family played at the time, so it was nice to discover it. I only started playing because I got injured playing football, and I was very active when I was younger so my parents wanted me to stay busy, and I loved it as soon as I started. I loved the atmosphere at my first golf club and my first teacher was a very good coach. He gave me the passion for golf.
I only started realising I could play golf for a living very late on.I had a very normal life as a teenager – until 18 I was just going to school and doing what normal young people do. Then my parents gave me the chance to just play golf for two years when I was 18 and see what I could do – it turned out well and I’m very happy they gave me this opportunity.
But the best thing about being a golfer is the travelling. But it can also be the worst thing. I’m lucky to have been able to play some great golf courses and meet people from all over the world, and the other great thing about being a golfer is that my passion has become my job. That’s cool.
For four years I lived in a paradise, as from the age of 14 to 18 I lived in Tahiti.I pushed my parents into the move really. Although Tahiti is a French territory, it’s very far away. My parents got a transfer and we lived there for four years. It’s a totally different way of life, and it’s a warm, tropical island.
I loved all the colours and smells of the place, and that’s also where I fell in love with surfing. I had never been to the Atlantic coast before we moved there, and water in that part of the world is so important. Everyone is fishing or driving boats. Since I left there I’ve been back three times to visit. I once went to Tahiti and then to Hawaii for my holidays, spending 10 days in each place, and it was the most amazing travelling experience ever.
On the subject of surfing, it’s my number one passion.It’s an amazing feeling every time you get on that board. You’re by yourself in the water, and the waves are coming at you so you have to adapt to them. It helps to keep me refreshed and take my mind off things and relax as sometimes golf can be tough mentally. I always think about surfing. It means a lot to me and I’ve become quite competent at it now. France is a nice place for surfing, but it’s not as good as Morocco, Bali, Tahiti or Hawaii though.
The biggest wave I’ve surfed was nine feet in Hawaii two years ago, but that was scary.I’ve been doing it for 15 years, so I can surf good waves and take on the dangerous, big ones now too. If you’re not in the water you can’t imagine the power of it all, but when you’re there in the moment it’s all very powerful.
I know Rafa Cabrera Bello loves to surf too, but we’ve not yet done it together yet...We’ve tried to find the time to do it, but we’re busy and we have a different schedule because he’s playing better than me and playing all the Majors. But one day we should find the time – maybe in the Canary Islands where he comes from because they have some good waves there, and I’m living in Andorra. So the Canary Islands are easy for me to get to.
The Challenge Tour gave me a great grounding as professional golfer.It’s tough as the playing level is getting so high now as you can see by the scores every week. I wasn’t expecting to win three times on there twice and automatically graduate to the European Tour. Before me, only Edoardo Molinari had done it, so yeah I exceeded my expectations. I won two tournaments in a row in 2014 and then went on to win the Rolex Trophy. It was a very good feeling. The Challenge Tour is a good tour and the staff do a great job of finding more events all of the time, and it’s a very good school to learn about life on tour.
Myself and my caddie Cyril wear some lively clothes and it comes mainly from Cyril, who loves to wear very bright clothes.I think he spends a lot of time in the mirror, even matching the socks with the belt and making sure he has the right colour laces on! Now Lacoste are creating more fun clothes with different colours I’m enjoying it too, but I play a bit straighter than my caddie.
Our professional adventure started just before the Challenge Tour final in 2014 that we won. One month before he called me and told me he was free and would love to work for me that week. It went well and we won so it was fun. I then found a caddie who had a lot of experience in Gordon Faulkner, who went on to caddie for Beef. We stayed together for a few months and then I asked Cyril if he was free again and that was over two years ago now.
He’s a very nice, smart guy, so we enjoy our time together. But during tournaments we’re serious. We stay apart at the venue and travel separately, so we can try and be as professional as possible.
My management company has also built this hat company Argo – and they try and make the hats much more fun than the normal golf hats.A lot of people have told me they like my hats and it’s great to do something a little bit different. I think it fits with the European Tour’s image of being fun and quite open.
My goal is to win a European Tour event.I’ve got some great people around me and my golf is improving. I’m very happy about that, because at one point I lost my tour card. I’m putting myself in contention a lot now, but not really going into the back nine on Sundays. So I have more work to do, and I have to practice more, but everything is trending in the right direction.
I think my first win will come soon.I hope so any way. I’m just trying to get better week by week and be more professional every day, so it’s coming. I used to struggle a bit when in contention in front of big crowds, because I’m quite a shy person. But I’ve worked to get better with that and now I enjoy it. When you see a lot of people getting joy from watching you playing, it’s a great thing. Now I just try to embrace it all.
My dream golfing fourball is Kelly Slater, Ben Hogan and Michael Jackson… Ok, joking aside, if it’s only golfers I would say Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Tiger, of course.
When we’re away from home us French guys are like a family really.We travel a lot and we’re away from home so we have fun and try and create a good atmosphere. We enjoy having dinner all together. Some of the guys are extremely close. We all have the same goal ultimately - we want golf in France to grow and help it get into the spotlight more.
Being on the European Tour is where I want to be.I feel very comfortable and good here. The staff make everything easy for the players and the courses we play are in amazing condition. Sometimes it’s tough – but it’s tough because that’s the nature of the game. But life on tour is beautiful.
I think the Ryder Cup in France in 2018 will be a great one, not just for the golf but for the location as well with it being so close to Paris and Versailles.The golf course is very well designed and ideal for an event like this. The shape of the holes are set up perfectly for the event. I hope the European team will be strong and win it, and I would love to be a part of it, but if I’m not a part of it I will come and watch as I think it will be a classic Ryder Cup. The fans will have great golf during the day and then a great time in the evening, with the centre of Paris being only 40 minutes away.
My biggest career goal is to play in the Ryder Cup because if you’re doing that then in the previous 12 months you probably won some events and had a great year.It’s also because it’s a unique event. Although I have lots of good people around me, it’s a week where you’re surrounded by teammates and able to get close to people. The memories must be amazing. And then the crowds are unreal! A lot of people support you and I think it’s a very special event. I grew up playing team sports and I love it when we get to have that feeling again as golfers.
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