Gaganjeet Bhullar moves to the United States to cement his game

28 year old Gaganjeet Bhullar, the boy from Kapurthala whose drive is somewhat legendary already, has made a stellar return to the game after a two year hiatus. What’s changing his drive and focus? Bhullar, who was settled in Delhi has moved lock, stock and barrel to train in his game in the United States. The under-30 golf star has a long journey ahead and wanted to make amends to his golf earlier on by training in the United States.

The seven-time winner on the Asian Tour bounced back from a wrist injury he sustained in 2014 by winning the 2016 Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea and clinching the BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open title for the second time in his career two months later. Here’s Shaili Chopra in conversation with Gaganjeet Bhullar.

THE LAST TWO YEARS
Mentally I never accepted that I was struggling. It was just a matter of time that I would come out of it. Because of this wrist injury I couldn’t work too hard last year. Now slowly my body is coming back two shape. I was once again back to the range putting hours into the game again in January 2016. I also got June-August free on the Asian Tour (aside of King’s Cup). I was back at the gym, and so physically I was getting my strength back. Because of that my game is, I would say, coming back.

NEXT STOP
Playing the Hong Kong Open next week followed by the finale on PGTI Tour, the Mcleod Russell in Kolkata.

MOVING TO THE UNITED STATES
I used visit US every year in summertime for club fitting and other needs. I would visit Sacramento since my family is there. I realised I needed to be there to get better. Within a 30 minute drive, I have access to 30-40 courses. I can work harder and longer due to the weather on the west coast. I was always sure I wanted to be there. I have more family and friends. I feel happy being there.

THE TRAINING SCHEDULE
I am focussed and experimenting on courses. I am pretty much on my own as of now. The thing is I am getting good practice facilities there, so I can experiment on different kinds of grasses. Some course are links and others tree line and many other kinds.

THE INDIAN GOLF PERSPECTIVE
We are still not the best contenders for winning although we are showing some victories. Anirban (Lahiri) is the only one who are gone through to the next level in the last few years. Let’s not rush to celebrate. On the Asian Tour, we are close to just 7 players with a full card in Asia, we need to take this number to 15-20, like the Koreans and Thai.

Guys like Shubhankar Sharma, Chikkarangappa are bright stars – we are just few young chaps. Overall, we have a bigger journey ahead. We have the mental hunger but we need the numbers to help  India reach the next level.

TACKLING THE MIND IN DOWNTURNS
Here the thing is, I have always been a solid ball striker. Looking at my stats last year or year before I never was worried. My short game where I need to convert the game to wins. So I worked on those. I did see a lot of good players – Jordan Speith, Jason Day, Adam Scott. I read books by or on Ben Hogan, Sam Snead – to understand what was holding me back. I am trying to get better at my putting.

EYE ON 2017
This year my goal was to get back into the winner’s circuit. That’s done. A lot of the Asian Tour winners will get a status on the European Tour next year, thanks to the tours collaboration. I am on the list of players who will get that privilege. I know what kind of things to work on. Goal is to get my world ranking and get my self back on the European Tour.

Bhullar’s return to the game is a great example of how the under-30 star has performed and put his golf under a lens in a definite bid to sort out the issues. Three months ago he moved to Sacramento to come back stronger post the wrist injury. Initially he went back and forth for a little time but seeing the benefits of his training, he stayed back by renting out a place.