Smells Like Tee Spirit

Vani Kapoor was nine when she gripped her first golf club,waggled her legs just a little and then in one fluid motion swung it.

Vani Kapoor was nine when she gripped her first golf club,waggled her legs just a little and then in one fluid motion swung it. Weekend outings with her dad to the golf course meant something else she learnt to love the putting green,the whisper of the club in the air and the dimpled white ball that arced its way away from her and rolled on the grass. Now,seven years later,she tops the ranking of amateur lady golfers in India. It is an honour, says the student of Shri Ram School,Delhi,on the phone from Ooty where she will be participating in a junior tournament later this week. It coincides with the results of my Class X exams,so Im a little anxious, she says. Kapoor had learned most of her school syllabus on the golf course,where she spends at least three hours every weekday and eight hours on the weekend. I want to be a professional golfer, she smiles.

Despite the heat and Tiger Woods,golf courses in the Capital are teeming with youngsters who share Kapoors love,if not ambition. Considered a sport for the greying corporate set,golf is steadily attracting the young. The junior golf industry in India is over Rs 50 crore and is growing by 15 per cent per annum, says Rishi Narain,director of Rishi Narain Golf Management that has the contract to run the Indian Golf Unions national junior tour. Kolkata used to be the hub for golfers,but recently the maximum growth has taken place in the north,particularly Delhi and Chandigarh, says Satish Aparajit,secretary-general,Indian Golf Union. Three years ago,the rise in applicants forced them to introduce a pre-qualifying round for junior tournaments in the north. About 120 applicants are shortlisted from over 250, says Aparajit.

The annual summer vacation is when most students are initiated into the sport. The free time allows one to learn the basics, says NS Rawat,officer in-charge at Aravalli Golf Course,Faridabad ,where children as young as five are enroling for lessons. Rohtas Singh,who gives training to children at the Delhi Golf Club on Mathura Road,says,A lot of hard work is required and at least 8-10 regular sessions with the coach are important to get the correct posture,grip and swing. A 45-minute session here costs Rs 500.

At the DLF Golf and Country Club,Gurgaon,students are evaluated before enrolment in one of their four programmes. Beginners are put in the bronze division and non-members have to pay Rs 3,500 for eight group lessons of 60 minutes each; those with an established handicap are part of the gold division,where Rs 5,000 is charged for six individual lessons of 30 minutes each and a module of fitness and nutrition; and Platinum Elite Division comprises juniors who compete in tournaments at the national level. The charges are Rs 5,000 for 14 lessons of 30 minutes. Admitting 6-7 students in each group at a time,the club has a waiting list. Parents encourage children to take up golf because they think it can instill qualities like tenacity and sportsman spirit, says Karan Bindra,director of instruction,Country Club,as he finalises details of the upcoming nine-day summer camp. Six-to-18-year-olds can enrol for 27 hours of coaching for Rs 6,500.

The sport is receiving its share of attention with the success of Indian golfers like Jeev Milkha Singh,Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Kapur. The sport is relatively young in India and idols popularise it, says Dushyant Singh,head of sports at Pathways World School that offers golf lessons to its students. While the school has a driving net for putting,students are also taken to the nearby Golden Greens Golf & Country Resort.

The sport has its share of challenges. It is a task to get sponsors for junior tournaments, says Aparajit. Captain Khan,assistant secretary,Delhi Golf Club adds,Good coaches are hard to come by.

While Kapoor has her fingers crossed in Ooty,Abhishek Kuhar,14,has won gold at Toyota Etios Junior Golf Tour at Panchkula. It is a fair game, says the student of Salwan Public School. All his friends are golfers and all he wants is to represent India in the international circuit. I hope it happens soon, he says.

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