Sachin Tendulkar’s growing appetite for golf

November 28, 2015: Sachin Tendulkar was at the DLF golf course today, vetting his appetite for golf. Top ranked Indian golfer, Vani Kapoor kept the master blaster company as he showed off his smooth swing and touch with the clubs. Vani was delighted at meeting the maestro and shared her joy through an Instagram post on her account.

Plenty of cricketers have been taking to golf in recent times – Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been at it, while Murali Kartik is even aspiring to turn into a proper golfer, spending a lot of time to nurture his golfing skills. Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh are also known to be avid golfers.

Tendulkar owns a villa at the Kensville Golf and Country Club in Ahmedabad and expressed his desire to pursue golf in his post retirement years.

Sachin drove the green on the ninth hole and had everyone gaping in awe at his natural abilities. “He is extremely good! It was the best moment of my life to meet my inspiration,” gushed an obviously excited Vani. She was candid enough to even admit that she was star struck at the opportunity to meet her idol.

The great cricketer’s visit was kept largely private, but Sachin has spoken of a keen desire to practice the craft in the years to come. Some of his thoughts during his interaction with the media in 2013 turned out to be very insightful. And it is good to see that the star player is eager to follow through on those thoughts and keep trying his hand at golf.

“I like to hit the ball, whether it’s cricket or golf,” said a smiling Sachin at Kensville in 2013. “ I have played golf only a few times, once with teammates when we were on a tour to South Africa. But I want to play golf more in times to come.”

“Some of my friends play golf. They say the more we play golf, the more our appetite for it grows. Probably it can happen to me also once I start playing more golf,” he added at the time.

“As of now I haven’t decided but probably in future I may think over it. Cricket and golf are associated with a bat or ball so golf seems to be an obvious choice for cricketers these days,” admitted Tendulkar and his visit to DLF affirms his continued interest in golf.

“I have played cricket throughout my life and there is a lot of cheering in the stadium even before I take strike. But in golf, you can feel silence even after making a shot, and it helps you think more clearly,” said Tendulkar.

Golf in India can do with a hand from the little master’s bag of tricks.