TARGET: Become a scratch golfer in the next 24 months
I picked up golf in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 1982 when my father was posted there as the Defense Advisor to the High Commissioner. I played to a handicap of 12 and also represented Bangladesh in the Made for Each Other Tournament in Calcutta. I was on top of the Leaderboard among the Bangladesh contingent and missed out on an overall podium finish by a couple of strokes.
After coming back to India, I got employed, then got married, had children and could not find the time to play any more golf. However, the bug has bitten big time and I am now playing at the Qutab Golf Course in New Delhi. I am hitting about a 100 balls three to four times a week. Before hitting the main Course I want to hit at least 10,000 balls on the driving range. My target is to break 90 the first time on the Course.
Milestones:
There are a few milestones I have set for myself over the next 24 months:
- Play to a single digit handicap. This across at least a dozen courses around the country.
- Podium finish in at least one national level tournament
- Find my way into the Indian Golf Union Merit List
- Turn pro
- List in the Top 100 of the PGTI Rankings
Exercise in futility?
Possible? I do not know. And I will never know until I try and give it a shot. So what if I am turning 60 in a few months. So what if I have a prosthetic knee, artificial eyes and a lot of broken bones? I know I have the grit, determination and a mojo as big as all outdoors to go after a dream, even if it seems impossible and illogical. After all, my passion statement is, “Only those who wish going too far can possibly know how far they can go.”
Spread the popularity of golf
The broader aim is to popularise this wonderful game and hopefully get more and more interested in picking up golf. To further this cause, I plan to document my continuing journey from a novice to a pro.
The process will be extensively documented through videos, bogs, pictures and interviews. Not only will people be able to follow my progress (or lack of it), I will also interview coaches and mentors who will assist me in the process. I will speak to equipment manufacturers to understand the science of the sport. I will take advice from other golfers who are in various stages of their game. The rules and nuances of the game will be explained. We will talk about simulators to show how the personal game can be monitored and improved. And we will hopefully destroy some common myths, particularly that golf is for the rich and for old fogies.
All this information will feature on various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, and much of it will come together on this page.
Hopefully in the process of my own progression, many more people will be enthused to take up golf and soon India will not only have more Courses for people to play on, but will also become a breeding ground for world class players.