A Special Report by www.golfingindian.com
Jan 18, 2013. In a fantastic development for the sport, Sachin Tendulkar has gotten into golf mode with lessons on the course. He is already taking the game to the next level as he engages in understanding the basics of golf. Perhaps a big shift from the cover drive? Or perhaps not.
Sponsored by Adidas, he was geared up with his Taylormade outfit and glove as he set course on a training session earlier this week in the capital city of Delhi. Just before the rains lashed, he had got a couple of his lessons in the bag and has managed to impress his spectators with the ability to connect the ball. Not surprising for a cricketing legend?
But in golf making contact, or getting distance isn’t the tough part really as getting the direction is the name of the game here. Sachin knows the arena is going to rather different with no massive crowds waiting to catch the ball. For the first time Sachin will be attempting his drive to a stationary ball and not hitting one in reaction to a bowler. This promises to put him under some pressure to understand and build a stratagy. He said to golfingindian.com in a recent interview before his retirement, “it’s a lot about the mind and not just about connecting the ball but to be able to do it consistently is key. Plenty of mental training is important. You have got to be mentally tough to drive your game. It’s also important to have a vision to be able to execute your plan. It may not happen in the first go but you have to give it many chances. To be able to play 18 holes is not easy.”
Tendulkar is not alone as Mahinder Singh Dhoni too have picked up the game and is often spotted playing at the ITC Classic Golf Resort in Haryana.
Golf experts say cricketers have realised this is the only game they can pursue in earnest after retirement and get better and better at it. It also remains aspirational they continue to learn and grow with it.
Viv Richards said in a recent interview to Nigel Henderson of Wisden India that he would rather played golf as he preferred the Augusta Green Jacket to the Maroon cap.
“For sure, it would be golf,” says a man who has a handicap of four and plays several times a week in an attempt to get it down to scratch. “With the passion that I have for it now and maybe as a young kid who could have become good at it and had the same sort of belief you had as a cricketer, yes. Even after all my achievements in cricket, I’d still trade them. I guess maybe why is because cricket is only played in a few countries. Golf has become much more global.”
Former test cricketer Dean Jones, who now commentates across Indian channels on cricket also had a successful stint with the game. Jones joined the Senior golf tour as a professional in Australia making a rather successful stint with his tee offs.
Gary Player in a recent interview with golfingindian.com during the India Golf Awards said that India needs a person like Sachin in golf to promote the game in a big way. Tendulkar is one of his ‘heroes’ Player said. The golf legend who hails from South Africa is completely hooked on to cricket but remains a golf evangelist as he believes it’s a sport for life.
Dhoni, Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ajay Jadeja, Atul Wassan, Nikhil Chopra and many others are hooked and booked on the golf course. So with so many cricketers lining up golf courses, it would be superb to see some professionals coming out of cricket. Here’s wishing Sachin Tendulkar a seriously fantastic tee off.
