After picking golf over horse riding as a teenager, Tiffany Arafi made it her goal to become a professional golfer and play on the Ladies European Tour.
With one year left at Coastal Carolina University, Tiffany competed at LET Q-School in 2022 and gained full status after finishing 14th in the Final Qualifier.
Tiffany comes from a family of golfers and one day hopes to represent Switzerland at the Olympic Games.
Excited for the season ahead, we caught up with Tiffany to find out more about her golfing journey, her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis, and her goals for 2023…
Hometown: Birsfelden, Switzerland
Home Course: Golf Club Crans-Sur-Sierre
Age: 23
Started golf at: 6
Turned pro: 2023
Handicap: +4.4
I was six years old when I first started playing golf. My whole family was playing already, and it was on Saturdays and Sundays that we would go there and spend the whole day at the course altogether. At first, I was also doing horse riding, so I had to pick between horse riding and golf, but I chose golf!
Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie were my heroes growing up. Michelle was so impressive back when I was little. She was really tall and I was just so small. The way she used to putt with the wider stance was so cool and I was just really impressed by her when I was little.
As soon as I decided between golf and horse riding I knew I wanted to turn pro. I thought if I’m going to do it, I want to do it 100%. I was still studying in Switzerland at the time, so I wasn’t in a sport school or anything. But then later I moved to Orlando to do my last few years of high school and my senior year at a golf academy.
Afterward, I went to college and played for four years for Coastal Carolina. College was great. All very good years. I had a great team and it was a great place to practice too. Myrtle Beach is a great place with so many many golf courses.
I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play golf again. When I was in high school in Orlando I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). That’s been my biggest challenge so far because I was off school for a really long time. I was not able to exercise so I had to find medication and treatments and then do some rehabilitation. That was right before college, so I was scared to lose my scholarship and tell my coach. But she was super supportive and told me it wasn’t a problem and that she still wanted me on the team.
It’s changed my perspective on life. It made me realise how much my family means to me and how much golf means to me. I’m definitely grateful. I’m definitely lucky and also really grateful with all that happened and that I can play golf again. And now being on the LET is amazing!
My original plan was just to play Q-School as a practice. I was not expecting to turn pro because I was still doing my Masters at Coastal Carolina. I still had until August 2023. So I was like, I’m going to go try out what Q-School is and how it is, because it’s different, it’s not the same experience. So I went to La Manga in December and I did really well and ended up finishing 14th. Then I had the question of whether I should stop and tell my coach about it and just turn pro? But the choice had already been made. It was a quick decision!
Playing Q-School without any pressure helped a lot because I knew it was not my last chance. I still had next year. It was cool. So I think I had a lot less pressure which helped out. My coach was sad at first. She was crying a little bit, but she didn’t take it badly at all. She was very happy for me. She knew it was a once in a lifetime chance. It wasn’t a difficult decision because it’s my goal and it’s always been my dream. I was like, wow, it’s just happening quicker. So why not?
My goal is to keep my card for next year. My first event was so tough because I had food poisoning in Morocco, so I didn’t enjoy it that much! But it was a great experience to be with the PGA Champions Tour seniors at the same event, that was really nice and impressive to see all those great players right behind you on the range. South Africa was then really nice, so I can’t wait for the next event. My goal is to keep my card for next year, that’s the big goal so I don’t have to go to Q-School.
Quickfire Q&A
- Who is your hero? Tiger Woods
- What makes you happiest? Playing golf
- Best friend in golf? My boyfriend, he’s my best friend and my caddie
- Favourite food? Sushi
- Golfing superstitions? No, not really!
- Favourite travel destination? Dubai
- What is your most treasured possession? My necklace, I always need it with me
- Favourite Course? Golf Club Crans-Sur-Sierre
- Dream fourball? Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffle and Maria Fassi
