Tee Time!

8216;8216;The first thing is dressing up,8221; he rattled off. 8220;One should wear shoes with spikes because they help you walk in the grass and maintain a firm grip while you8217;re aiming for a stroke.8217;8217; I was not. He was. He also said one should wear a collared T-shirt because that8217;s the dress code. I had on a collared shirt, so at least I was close.

More instructions followed and I learnt that there are three main components in this game8212;long shot, chipping and putting. Long shot means hitting the ball far and chipping is the medium shot intended to get closer to the green. Putting is hitting the ball over a very short distance. Verma wanted me to begin with putting.

It was soon evident that I didn8217;t even know how to hold the club. I held it in such a tight grip that it hardly moved, swinging was out of question. Verma informed me that it was unlikely I would elicit any response. 8216;8216;Feel comfortable with it and keep a light hand.8217;8217;

Before I could start any actual putting, he briefed me about the various clubs. The one I would use was called a putter. And this was when the sportswoman in me took over. I held the putter in my left hand and swung it over my left shoulder, posing like Sehwag. Verma, obviously annoyed but still polite, taught me the right way to hold it. I stood aiming at the ball and gave putting a try. The ball swung in the air. 8216;8216;Good shot!8217;8217; It was all the encouragement I needed.

I was introduced to Anthony Kang, a US pro. So, I got some more expert advice on how to improve my stroke. Flanked by two coaches, the going was not easy. I worked on putting for what seemed like a very long time. After a number of trials and words of advice I graduated to the next level. Kang stayed behind to guide the rest and I made my way to the other course.

Next came the chipping round8212;definitely the tougher of the two. 8216;8216;We aim to lift the ball from this area to that flag,8217;8217; said Verma, adding that it was a 150 yards distance. The hitting technique was the same, except for the distance and the club. This time my weapon was a club numbered 88212;heavier than the previous one. I was at work again, but the target in some of my attempts was the patch of green grass below the ball. Let8217;s just say that in my endeavours, several patches of grass were err displaced. I became good at putting, but was a failure as far as chipping was concerned.8216;8216;You8217;re standing in a wrong position, why are you moving your eye with the ball, aim only at the ball,8217;8217; Verma thundered non-stop.

We had hit the course at about 9.20 am and called it quits at one in the afternoon. I had had enough. Priyanka had declined to try her hand at the game, even though she is the athletic type. As for me, I was the games captain of my house in Shimla8217;s Auckland House School. Needless to say our house came last that year. I still have a photograph of all of us crying, rather unsportingly, after our defeat.