Dr. Hill Griffin continues playing the sport he loves
JOHNS CREEK, Ga. (BVM) — At the age of 81, Dr. Hill Griffin has lived an adventurous life with the sport of tennis as his guide. From tennis tournaments all over the world including Monte Carlo and Paris, to winning an SEC championship at the University of Georgia, Dr. Griffin has had an outstandingly accomplished career as a tennis player.聽
He was first introduced by his first cousin in Virginia. At the age of 12, he had never seen or held a tennis racket before. After experiencing tennis for the first time and enjoying it, he formed a tennis team in high school, where he and his team would play without much instruction. His first award-winning performance in high school came as a senior, where he won his regional tournament in Brunswick, Ga. Griffin eventually made it to the state semifinals where he, 鈥済ot killed by somebody who knew how to play.鈥�
Following his high school career, Griffin walked on at the University of Georgia in 1958, although freshmen were ineligible to participate in any varsity sports at the time. Griffin mentioned that, 鈥淸There] was a two-man freshmen team, and [he] was number three.鈥� As a sophomore, he finally claimed a spot on the varsity team, continuing to play and get better at the game.聽
The late Dan Magill was coaching the Bulldogs, and served as a great mentor and leader to Griffin. When asked if Magill was an influence in his life, Griffin answered, 鈥淎bsolutely鈥� no question,鈥� adding 鈥淗e was a wonderful people person who cared about his players鈥� and is an honest to God icon in my life.鈥� Griffin mentioned that he had trouble fathoming how much he looked up to Griffin during his days at Georgia, but is someone he still looks up to to this day. At a point and time, Magill was the winningest college tennis coach of all time. The praise for Magill continued as Griffin lauded the great coach by noting that, 鈥淎s a man with no ego, and someone who cared very much about his players, every single one of his players would have run through a wall for him.鈥�
Griffin recalled his greatest achievement as a Bulldog, recapping his last SEC singles tournament. Griffin emerged as the best singles player in the SEC en route to capturing a conference title.
Following his time at Georgia, Griffin began his dentistry career and took a break from competing in tennis tournaments. He attributes his time away from competitive and structured tennis to his work, and his commitment to his family. Griffin, 鈥渂usted [his] butt and everything else became secondary.鈥� When he began to finally settle into his profession which he always put first, his time allotted for him to begin playing in the senior circuit and traveling for tennis once again. He won his first tournament back at the Atlanta City Open.聽
As a humble athlete, Griffin no longer pays attention to the number of tournaments he has won, but rather the irreplaceable memories he has collected throughout his experiences. He says, 鈥淚鈥檝e thrown away dozens of trophies because they don鈥檛 have any meaning. I鈥檝e got those winning moments in my heart. The items are not important to me, the memories are.鈥澛�
One of his fondest memories is becoming a member at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga. He joined in 1971 and won the Men鈥檚 Open Championship, which was available to all ages. Over a 36-year span, Griffin won countless championships in the Men鈥檚 Open Championship, with his last coming in 2007.
His tennis accomplishments carry overseas as well, as he has traveled all over the world to compete. He noted Monte Carlo as his favorite location, emphasizing, 鈥淭he beautiful setting over the Mediterranean Sea and flowers and red clay courts. It鈥檚 extremely memorable.鈥�
He has competed in around 14 international tournaments, traveling to Japan, Moscow, Brazil, Spain, Canada and Paris to name a few. Impressively, Griffin had the opportunity to play at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, the site of the annual French Open. Depending on the size of the event, he will usually compete against a range of four to sixteen different countries. The last international tournament he competed in was in France at the Davis Cup, where he won several matches but the French team beat the United States.聽
Griffin also plays in tournaments with his son and wife. He competed in a father-son tournament in Flushing Meadow, where the US Open was held and he and his son, who was the youngest participant in the tournament, made a trip to the semi-finals. He is looking forward to another senior father-son tournament later this summer in New Jersey.聽
Griffin enjoys playing with his family. He lightheartedly claims, 鈥淭he emotion and stress of playing with a family member as a partner is different from playing with a stranger because if one of us makes a dumb shot, we tend to be more critical than if I were playing with a stranger.鈥� He adds, 鈥淚t is fun and I enjoy it, but there is certainly a mental degree of stress鈥� My wife and I play a lot of mixed doubles, but she can get aggravated with me when I don鈥檛 play like Roger Federer.鈥�
Griffin can look back on his career as a tennis player and gladly claim to have not experienced regret, however, he only wishes that he had begun playing at an even younger age in junior tennis with more guidance and instruction. He insists, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not like I was missing much because I鈥檓 having a hell of a good time playing tennis now.鈥� He is grateful in his tennis career mainly for his blessing of good health and ability to play into his current years.
