Interview with an All Square member – Richard Thibo

During this week’s interview we had a nice chat with Richard Thibo, a passionate golfer from Luxembourg who is a member at the beautiful Kikuoka Golf and Country Club. Richard loves to use All Square to notify his friends when he plays golf.  

1. ABOUT GOLF

To start, can you tell us how you first got into golf?

I held my first club at the age of 12 when we were on holidays in Algarve, Portugal and they had a Pitch & Putt course among their facilities. Unfortunately, back home in Luxembourg I didn’t have the chance to continue playing golf as nobody could drive me to the course.

I really started playing golf and taking lessons when my father’s partner came up with the idea of organising a Charity Golf Event for our company 8 years ago and I was in charge of organising this event. From that moment on it became a real passion.

What would make golf more fun?

I think for amateurs of a certain level, there could be a rule of a second chance from the tee, like the second serve in tennis, The negative point would be that golf would loose its attraction if the game becomes too easy. Some golfers say: “Mulligan that’s American for cheating”!

Your funniest golf experience?

I guess the funniest experience I had was a friend facing a 150 meter shot over a water hazard for his 2^nd shot into the green on a par 4. He caught the ball quite thin so that it ditched 4 times on the water to stop about 1 meter from the pin. We all had a good laugh and congratulated him!

Your top 3 golf destinations?

My 3 favorite golf destinations are: Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Scotland.

What is the golf pairing of your dreams?

I guess for amateurs from the US golf is about having a great time with friends and challenge them in a fair competition for a few dollars. I hope that one day my son (10 months old today) will share my passion for golf and end up in my flight. All in all, a round with my son and other passionate golfers would be my dream flight.

2. ABOUT ALL SQUARE

How did you first discover All Square?

It was a close friend of mine who invited me to the very first All Square tournament at Golf Club Grand-Ducal in 2014. This is where I discovered the platform and got to know some of the people behind it. Over the past years I saw the community rising very rapidly.

Complete the sentence: What I like the most about All Square is …

It is young, it is fresh and so are most of the members of the community.

Your favorite feature on All Square?

I have actually 2 favorite features. First of all I really enjoy the check-in feature. I like to let my  friends know when I play and vice versa. The second feature I like a lot is about the reviews of golf courses. This helps me choose the next courses I want to play.

How can All Square make the game more fun?

For high and mid-handicappers it would be nice to have an instructional section with swing tips, practice drills, videos and swing analyses. Personally, I am a huge fan of Mark Crossfield who, in addition to this, makes also great neutral reviews on new equipment.

3. RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS

Hitting long drives or sinking long putts?

Sinking long putts pay off more, but hey, the freedom feeling you get hitting a long drive. Priceless!

Having the round of your life or a hole-in-one?

Never had a hole-in-one so far but, nevertheless, I would take the round of my life. It lasts longer and gives you more excitement.

Early morning or late afternoon tee off?

I am an early bird golfer and love to hit the course when the fairways and greens are still humid from the night before and you smell the grass.

The coolest player on Tour?

The current generation has so many cool players, but if I had to pick one it would be a very tough decision between Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia.

Of all times, no doubt Seve Ballesteros.