21 May 2020: Like bees swarming into a flourishing garden, eager golfers found their way back to the golf courses as the clubs opened their facilities for the first time since lockdown started in March. Jeev Milkha Singh, Shubhankar Sharma, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Karandeep Kochhar, Rohan Kathuria and Aadil Bedi bathed in the summer sunshine trying to sharpen their minds and tools at the Chandigarh Golf Club. Shiv Kapur joined Gaurav Ghei for a trek around the Delhi Golf Club.
Golf clubs around the country reopened facilities on Wednesday as the government extended the lockdown through 31 May with limited restrictions.
Kathuria had a good session with his friends Sharma and Kochhar at the CGC. “It was lovely to be back on the course. It felt like going back to school after a summer vacation,” said the delighted golfer from Chandigarh. “The club management had done some fantastic work and the course was in a perfect shape.”
“On the course pretty much we were just talking about how rusty it feels and how good the course is, we felt lucky to get something positive going in the last few months,” he added. Karan and I carried full bags while Shubhankar made it work with his irons and the putter.”
Shubhankar has kept himself busy with some meditation and drills at home, but it was a completely different experience being a proper course and he was delighted to have an opportunity to play with his pals.
“I really enjoyed my first round of golf after almost two and a half months. I’ve been looking forward to it for a while. I was doing a little bit of chipping in my garden in the last two months but there’s nothing like being back on the golf course,” he said.
The CGC also instituted from measures to enable social distancing and limit contact between players and the flagsticks. “I think the reopening of golf courses is well-timed as it is easy to maintain social distancing in our vast playing arena in golf. The Chandigarh Golf Club, like other courses around the world, has put some preventive measures in place that have facilitated the return of golf,” explained Shubhankar to the PGTI Tour.
“The club has provided a plastic contraption on each hole that helps us lift the ball out of the hole with the putter. So, we don’t need to use our hands to touch the flagstick or take the ball out and thereby we all avoid touching the same surface. The bunkers are also not required to be raked these days.
“While we are all wearing masks on the course and keeping a minimum distance of six feet from each other, we are also either carrying our own bags or using a golf cart to carry them with just one person in the cart to drive it.”
Kapur and Ghei also enjoyed a quiet round of golf at the Delhi Golf Club.
Jeev was delighted to get some fresh air and golf. He spoke to the media, expressing his sense of gratitude for the opportunity to get back on course. He also said that it was a privilege to be a golfer as he looked forward to continue practicing and playing but with even more perspective in the days to come.
Aadil Bedi, like Jeev and Shubhankar took to twitter to express his delight at being back in action, at least in practice.
Back to the golf after lockdown pic.twitter.com/RutOZDbWCz
— Aadil Bedi (@Aadilbedigolf) May 21, 2020
COVID-19 has kept everyone indoors since the middle of March as competition ceased and a lockdown declared in several countries around the world. The PGA TOUR has announced plans to resume its season at the Colonial in June.
