Playing with The Player -Amit Luthra

I’ve had the honour of meeting the 3 Golfing Greats in current era – Mr Arnold Palmer, Mr Gary Player & Mr Jack Nicklaus.

When I met Mr Player last year, I expected to bump into a frail, doddering old man who had had his time in the sun many moons back. I was however pleasantly surprised to meet this energetic, bubbly, charismatic, over flowing with enthusiasm, helpful yet very very humble & fit young man. He in my view could take on any 25 year old both physically & in golfing prowess. While Jack & Arnold are also personalities to reckon with, but Gary took the cake (without eating it as he is fit as a fiddle).

Last year, I took Shubham Jaglan (our Golf Foundation’s 7 year old prodigy – Current World Jr Champion) to play 1 hole, so impressed was he of Shubham’s game that on his insistence, we ended up playing all 9 holes.

This year Mr Player was stationed on hole # 5 (165 yards, island green hole of the newly Gary Player designed course at DLF) to play with each 4-ball. He was so very helpful & encouraging. He not only complemented good shots, but also gave valuable swing & putting tips to each participant individually. He also obliged the ever so eager players with pictures & autographs. The new course (brain child of DLF’s Rajiv Singh) is just amazingly breathtaking, with humps & hollows, numerous well placed water bodies, bunkers & countered greens, total contrast to the relatively flat Arnold Palmer 18 holes of the previous course.

At the gala evening he met all the guests with undying gusto, he also stated that the next Tiger would be from India as we had huge talent in Shubham, who also come from an underprivileged background like he himself (8 year World Jr Champion & 19 year Vani Kapoor-Pro golfer).

He is very very conscious about his fitness (does 1500 crunches & spends 1.5 hrs daily in the gym) his diet consists of vegetables & fruits & avoids sweet, deep fried, starch & fatty food.

I will always cherish these two meetings with the golfing icon.

Amit Luthra is one of India’s top amateur golfers and a chartered accountant