World number 1 Rafael Nadal swapped the tennis racquets for the golf clubs as he played golf with Jose Maria Olazabal in Spain last week in a charity pro-am event called the Olazabal & Nadal Invitational Pro-Am (coincidentally).
The event took place in Mallorca with Olazabal's Sport Mundi and the Foundation Rafa Nadal being the beneficiaries.
Nadal notoriously takes the game very seriously. He once told Telegraph that he puts "human feelings on hold" when playing.
"This means that when I go out on the golf course with my friends everyday human feelings are put on hold. I have a phrase I use before a game to set the boundary between our enmity on the course and our affection off it. I look hard at my golfing pals and say: 'Hostile match, right?'I know they laugh at me behind my back about this, but I am not going to change.
"I am decidedly unfriendly during a golf game, from the first hole to the last. It's true that you don't need the same intensity of concentration as in tennis, where, if your mind wanders for three or four minutes, you can lose three or four games."
Tiger Woods thinks Nadal might take the game too seriously!
Speaking of Tiger, Nadal says he looks up to him when he plays.
"I take my cue from Tiger Woods. From start to finish, I barely say a word to my rivals; I certainly don't compliment them on a good shot. They complain, they get angry with me, curse me for my rudeness.
"They say I'm more aggressive even than I am on the tennis court. The difference between me and my friends, some of whom are much better golfers than I am (I have a handicap of 11), is that I just don't see the point of playing a sport unless you're giving it your all."
Check the video below for some highlights of the event.
Source: DSG
