India’s three top golfers are his students. Anirban Lahiri, Chikkarangappa and Udayan Mane have put Indian golf on the global map and Vijay Divecha’s the man driving their distances in the sport. In a candid conversation with Anand Datla, Divecha reflects on his favourite sportsmen and what lies ahead for them.
Anand Datla: Congratulations on a great season for the boys and you. It is indeed a massive accomplishment to have your students win the Asian Tour Order of Merit, Rolex Order of Merit and the PGTI Emerging Player of 2015. What does this mean to you as a coach?
Vijay Divecha: Thank you for your wishes. It is indeed a fantastic thing to have these events happening together. I have a great sense of satisfaction to see these boys who handed over their lives to me at a very young age with a dream, to see their dreams come true. Of course the dream isn’t over and many more goals have to be accomplished.
I am very proud of them and we were enjoying these accomplishments over the last few days. However, we are back at work now and have left these things behind us. It is back to work and each one of them have bigger challenges ahead in 2016, so we have to start all over again.
Vijay, you are one of the most respected coaches in Asia today. What are ingredients that make you such a wonderful teacher to your students?
Thank you for your compliments. The work of a teacher is eventually judged by the performance of his/her students. What makes me such a wonderful teacher to my students? Well that is a question that they should be answering but I can try to attempt an answer.
Besides improving their scoring abilities and technical aspects, the most important thing is to give them the right values of being a good human being and good sportsmen. To have a never say die attitude. To enable them to find the next level. To prepare them for where they are going. To imbibe in them the belief in themselves and the spirit of finding out how far they can take themselves.
I could go on but if they show these qualities and traits in real life then I know that I am enabling them. A good work ethic is required for excellence in any field and that is something all of them have. All of them have learnt to become good learners and that is the best thing I could give them. To allow them to make mistakes and learn from them.
I am just an ordinary teacher and an ordinary human being – Vijay Divecha
But I am blessed to have such dedicated students and all your compliments about me are because of what they have done and because of what they will do in future – so it is they who make me whatever you say I am. As for me– I am just an ordinary teacher and an ordinary human being.
Udayan Mane has finished fifth on the Rolex rankings in his rookie season. Can you please discuss his game for us and help us understand the areas that he needs to work on to grow to the next level?
Udayan Mane is one of the rising stars of Indian golf and hopefully he will reach the next level in the coming years. One of his greatest qualities is his work ethic – though it wasn’t like that maybe two years ago. But guidance from his seniors Anirban and Chikka made him shift gears and up the ante.
One of advantages of being in our learning environment at Eagleton is that we have seniors like Anirban and Chikka for the younger players to learn from. Udayan has benefited immensely from this. He has taken his fitness level up three or four notches. This has contributed to a great extent in his game. As for his game – he can generate a lot of club-head speed with his 6ft 3 or 4 inches height, his broad shoulders and long arms.
If there is one area of his game which we can improve on it is putting. If he is to go to the next level we need to definitely work on this area. I frankly feel he has it in him to go to the next level and he will find it within the next year or two – at the Asian Tour level first.
Chikkarangappa has been one of the leading performers on the Indian circuit since breaking out in 2013. What does he have to do to gain success in Asia and perhaps Europe?
Chikka is and has been winning since his junior days and amateur career. His performance on the PGTI over the last three years has been good. However, he now needs to establish his presence on the Asian Tour before he can show himself on the European Tour. He is on a threshold and I am pretty certain that he will find the next level – given some time.
In my opinion, establishing himself at the Asian Tour level is a two or three year timeframe. It took Anirban that long too. Playing on courses outside India is something that one has to learn how to do and that takes time. Chikka has a very good work ethic and is greatly influenced by his elder brother (Anirban) who is always available to him at every stage.
He has improved his driving distances over the last year and his iron play and short game has always been good. However, we are constantly working on getting better. His putting is a strength and if I had to bet my life on the 72nd hole of a championship where Chikka had to make a crunch putt to win I would bet on it. It is a question of time for him to show himself at the next level.
Anirban Lahiri has made India proud with some of his accomplishments this season. In the past too, we have seen some of our golfers have a great year but then not being able to sustain it. Have you discussed this with Anirban and what is your advice to him to maintain a sustained level of golf to continue winning at the highest levels for a long time to come?
Anirban has made all us Indians proud with his performances in 2015. In fact, 2015 has been like a whirlwind year for him. We had no clue or warning at the start of the year, about what lay ahead. Great year and it is a fantastic achievement to play in all 4 majors of the year.
Also Read: Anirban Lahiri, Toast of the Tour
One of the problems with such a year is that he has played too many weeks and going forward we will have to manage the number of weeks that he will compete. We have enjoyed the accomplishments of the year and after taking a break we have started our preparations for the coming season when he will be playing on the PGA Tour and will be in USA for most of the year.
We have discussed this and to have a sustained level of performance over the years he will have to regulate how many weeks he competes in a year. We have also discussed that all he has to do is play good golf and the results will follow. Anirban is a very fast learner and it hasn’t taken him long to learn from his peers and apply some of that learning into his plans.
One of the challenges for us is going to be that he will be in USA and I live in India so one of us will have to travel to keep working on the game. We will find solutions as we go forward. Anirban has been playing with all the top players in the world and his good finish at the PGA Championship has only strengthened his belief that he can compete at that level. Having said that we have to take it one step at a time and play good golf.
Golf is growing well in India at the moment, with substantial interest among the juniors. What would be your advice to parents and the golfers to train and develop into good professional golfers?
My advice to juniors is that they should have a good work ethic. Work smart and with a purpose and enjoy what you are doing. Find a coach who can take you to the next level and work with him/her keeping a long term view.
To put things in perspective — Anirban and I have been working together for FOURTEEN YEARS. That is long term. Chikka has been with me since 2004.
Play as many tournaments as you can, so you can get the competitive experience required to mature as a player. Work on your fitness and believe in yourself.
My advice to parents is that they are the ultimate support system for their children. Be there for them. Never reward performance – reward enthusiasm. Your children go to play and do their best. If they havent had a good day be supportive and make them understand that it is only a game.
It is also important for parents to understand that everyone cannot become Tiger Woods. Your child is unique and our job is to help them find their unique place in this world. Winning isn’t everything. In fact, one has to learn how to lose before one can learn how to win. Players who have not learnt how to lose disappear or struggle when they grow up. Sounds crazy coming from a coach who has produced many winners but take my advice – it is what I have learnt over the years.
