2009 appears to have been an outstanding year for golf. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has given this worldwilde sport the green light to join the Olympic ranks for the Summer Games in 2016, to be held in Brazil. Since 1744 and the founding of the first golf club, the Society of Edinburgh Gentlemen Golfers, and the first appearance of golf as an Olympic discipline in 1900 at the Paris Games, we have come an awful long way! In France, golf is now the fourth most popular individual sporting discipline. The figures reflect the sport's popularity in France : nearly 400 000 club members and 650 courses. That includes the one at Méribel, which year by year is becoming more beautiful and busier. The 2009 golf season will also go down in the annals, with superb weather providing excellent playing conditions, a clear resurgence of player numbers and an avalanche of competitions. All good reasons to feel satisfied and to continue the hard work that everyone has been doing. A big thank you to them. More than ever, Méribel golf club is an important part of summer. Have a good game!