Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Golf And The Gita


When we look back at the history of movies on golf, Legend of Bagger Vance, unfortunately, gets drowned out in the din. To be honest, we must strike off the word unfortunate because with a star cast that boasts of Charlize Theron, Matt Damon and Will Smith, to produce a superficial, cliched take on "golf and life" is a big blunder. The script just seemed to have so much potential but it fell short of expectations on the big screen.

But what draws us to this post is the connection between India and the movie, well, actually, the book, considering that the egg did come before the dud. Whoever said golf in India only goes as far back as the Scots who used to hack their way around the plains of Dum Dum in Kolkata in the early 1800s. The author of the book, Steven Pressfield, was so inspired by the Bhagavad Gita, at a time when he was struggling to pay off his rents, he decided to adapt it to a new novel.

Bhagavan, quite literally, came into his life-:

Bhaga became Bagger and van became Vance so Bhagavan became Bagger Vance. And just like Krishna guided Arjuna through the battle, Bagger Vance took it upon himself to revive Rannulph Junnuh's (name inspired by Arjuna) life, the protagonist, from being a drunken outcast to finding his way back into the people's heart by competing alongside Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen in an "epic" golf match on the Krewe Island(name inspired by, yup, you guessed it right-- Kurukshetra).

When it was announced that the book would be turned into a movie, there was a group that filed a case, saying that the movie "may hurt religious sentiments", and they were very concerned about how "god would be portrayed in the film". The National Council of Hindu Temples put out a statement saying, "Bagger Vance is a distortion of the Hindu word for God. Hindus will find it offensive to see Will Smith on the screen being called what is basically the word for god."

Do people get concerned, worried and offended too easily these days? The case was dismissed and the movie went on to be screened without a problem.

There was another book trying to ascertain the link between the Bhagavad Gita and golf. It was titled Gita on the Green: The Mystical Tradition Behind Bagger Vance.

Posted by: 'hopper
0 comments  

Categories:
, ,

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Ruling At The Home Of Golf

34 rules should be easy to master, right? Or so many would think before reality dawns upon them. When the 34 rules give way to 34,000 interpretations, even the wisest are left scratching their heads. But Ishwar Achanta is not your common man. He could rattle off half the rules of golf before the quick brown fox can jump over the lazy dog. The Open in 2005 might have witnessed a special Tiger win and an emotional farewell for Jack Nicklaus, but it also wrote a new chapter in Indian golf. Achanta became the first Indian to officiate in a Major championship. With Gaganjeet Bhullar teeing off in less than two hours, we bounced a few questions off the man considered the encyclopedia of golf rules in India-:

Q. Tell us about your experience in 2005...

A. It was phenomenal. Most people didn't expect to see an Indian referee in a major golf tournament because India was not considered a part of the global golf map. The rookies got a chance to introduce themselves and it was a special moment when I introduced myself as a representative of the Indian Golf Union. To have got the chance in St Andrews, the home of golf, was even more special.

Q. Were you nervous when you started out?

A. I was assigned the group of Daniel Chopra and they teed off around four in the afternoon. It was a wet cold day and blustery throughout, just like you would expect it in Scotland. When they started off, there were a few Indian tourists and they were waving out to me and saying words of encouragement. I almost felt like I was a player!


Q. And the first ruling?

A. It didn't take much time coming. It was of the first shot hit. I think it was Bart Bryant, playing with Daniel, who waved out for a referee. There was a hint of trepidation as I went towards him. It was, after all, the first hole at St Andrews in front of a large number of people. The Indians cheered me on as I went towards him. Thankfully it was a simple enough ruling as the ball was resting next to the sprinkler head.


Q. Did the star players throw 'starry tantrums'?

A. It can happen at other events but in a Major, the referees and the players share a very warm relationship. I remember after the tournament, I went up to Tiger and shook his hands and he said, "Thank you for all your help." Even though I had no interaction with him during the course of the tournament, it was just the respect the players had for the referees that prompted him to say that.


Q. Did you always want to make it big as a referee?

A. It was never a question of wanting to make it big but I do remember, in 2001, a year before I became a qualified referee, there was a small incident in my home club which led to a lot of confusion. I guess that was when I decided that I will devote a lot of my time to understanding the rules of the game.


Q. Are you still active as a referee?

A. I don't do many tournaments, which is also a result of having achieved what I wanted to but there are a few that I do regularly, like the Australian Open and some of the other ones. I am now looking at a greater role in golf administration.


Q. And your views on Gaganjeet?

A. I have seen him in his earlier days on the tour and he is a very talented player. I have always maintained that it is a matter of time before an Indian does something big. To put it differently, it is just a matter of time before the Claret Jug comes home.

--

We sure do wish that the 42-year-old plays a greater role in Indian golf and may great success bless the Golf Referees Association of India, which we hope, under his stewardship, is able to produce many qualified men who represent the country on the major tours. Wouldn't it be a pretty sight, to see Tiger Woods docked two strokes by one of our own?

1st Asian R&A Referees School

Posted by: 'hopper
0 comments  

Categories:
,

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Curious Case Of BGC

How would it feel to hit your drive, smack down the centre of the fairway, 320 yards away? Darned good right? How would it feel to walk all the way up to the spot where the ball has finished just to see a lousy bird flying away with the ball in its beak? If you happen to play at the Bangalore Golf Club, it would be a little more than a rare occurrence as the crows at the course are more of a menace than you would have bargained for! So much so that the club logo depicts a crow with a ball in its beak!!


Established in 1876, the Bangalore Golf Club course is the oldest existing course in India. No No, you can calm the raised eyebrows, we are not misguiding you. While the Royal Calcutta Golf Club might be the oldest club outside the British Isles, the fact is that the Royal has had to change its course three times, with the present one thrown open to the members in 1912. That technicality pushes the Bangalore Golf Club into the pages of history, although, it is seldom recognised for this feat.

With the city boasting of two other quality courses, KGA and Eagleton, it is the unique logo of BGC that brings it to the forefront of our conscience. The menace is at its peak right after mating season, with an average of three-four balls falling prey to the crow's insecurity everyday.

Such instances have been recorded at some of the best courses. Perhaps, none more famous than in '98 at the famed 17th at TPC Sawgrass, when Steve Lowery struck his tee shot towards the island green. A seagull swooped down and tried to fly away with the ball-:




What do you do in such a situation? Fret not because Rule 18.1 will come to your rescue-:

"If a ball at rest is moved by an outside agency, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced."

Posted by: 'hopper
0 comments  

Categories:
,

Thursday, July 2, 2009

A Rare Hole-in-one

As our aircraft fought its way through the monsoon clouds hanging low over the city of Pune, a sense of unease gripped the passengers. Not even Captain Collin James’ calm voice could fight off the mid-air turbulence.

But the rough treatment meted out to the jumbo jet was not close to what Emlyn Aubrey experienced as his flight headed from Pakistan towards Delhi.

20 years back, Emlyn, an American professional golfer embarked on his second trip to India to compete in the Indian Open to be played at the Delhi Golf Club. But no sooner had the flight taken off, he was greeted with a hole in the plane, or so goes the story. Narrating the incident to us, Emlyn says, “It happened on the way to Delhi in ’89. It wasn’t a “hole” but a separation between the wall and the floor. I could stick my whole hand in there. I saw daylight when the landing gear was down but thankfully it went away when the landing gear was raised for cruising.”

And how did he deal with the situation? “I remember covering the gap with my foot in hopes of maintaining cabin pressure. Silly, but true,” he answers.


And you think it’s rocket science?


The story had made its way across the Atlantic, and when he briefly flirted with the lead at the US Open later that year, the Chicago Tribune story read, “Emlyn Aubrey has seen snakes in the rough, wild monkeys in the trees and a hole in the bottom of an airplane at 25,000 feet. But none of his experiences on the Asian Tour could compare with the brief glimpse of his name atop the leader board in the 89th U.S. Open.”



But the dodgy flight is not his only connection to India. In 1994, Emlyn came back to India one last time and walked away with the Indian Open trophy at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. Taking us back to his win, he says, “I had played there a few years earlier and I really liked the golf course. I just played well and ended up beating everybody that week. The champion’s party afterward was incredible: music, traditional dance and great food!”


Winning in Calcutta made the victory a little more special for him. “I think Royal Calcutta is the oldest golf course outside Great Britain. It is an honour to have played there,” he says.


His first impressions of India might not have been great but a visit to one special attraction was something that he cannot forget. “I am a bit adventurous, and once golf was done for the day, I was able to get out and sightsee. Of course no trip to India is complete without seeing the Taj Mahal. One of the best experiences I have ever had. If I had to choose one place to take my family, it would be there. To think it was built by hand and the materials they used… just mindblowing.”


Today, a 45-year-old Emlyn teaches golf at the Centernary College in Indiana. And the teacher would be more than happy to impart lessons to pupils from India.


But would he like to entertain thoughts of another flight from Pakistan to India? Well, the jury is still out on that one.

Posted by: 'hopper
0 comments  

Categories:
, , , ,

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Slice Of '87

It came over a dish of delicious breadsticks -- by far the best thing to order at Papa John's -- the discussion on the connection between the American pizza company and the Indian Open. Oh yes, you read that right! Here's the story:

American Brian Tennyson, a former PGA Tour player, had spent a couple of seasons playing around in Asia. In 1987, Brian came to the Delhi Golf Club, and walked away with the then 24-year-old Indian Open trophy.

Unfortunately for him, an ill-timed neck injury followed soon after, as good as forcing him out of the sport. At Ball State University, Brian had roomed with a John Schnatter, who had now decided to begin a pizza chain. Schnatter asked his old friend to join him in the still-young enterprise. Tennyson began in 1992 with owning stores, and slowly made his way up till he was vice-president for strategic planning, and then head of investor relations. Clearly, the stable head and firm feet had followed him from the golf course to the Papa John's boardroom.

Brian quit entrepreneurship to attempt a golf comeback in 1995, but that didn't quite work out, and so he went back to business. These days Brian helps run a marketing company, a pet magazine, and a vehicle repair business.

Brian takes us back to his last-day runaway win in '87. "I was putting poorly coming into that week, even though I had a win and a couple of other top tens in the previous weeks," Brian tells us. "So I spent a lot of time on it and it paid off. Delhi golf club was very demanding and extremely tight off the tee which played right into my strength, which was ball striking. I loved the course and thought I could win. I was in the next to last group the final day and took the lead somewhere around the 12th or 13th hole. Information was all by word of mouth. A key shot was on, I believe, the 16th, a long par four where I hit a terrific 3-iron to about 15 feet. On the 18th fairway, a good friend at the time, European Tour player Jean Francois Remesy, came and told me I had a three-shot lead, and I relaxed," he says.

The story from the pro-am had us even more excited. Brian says, "In the pro-am, I played with a 14-year-old boy who was a very good young player. It turned out to be Daniel Chopra. In my first event on the 1995 circuit I was paired with him in the third round and he reminded me about it. It made me feel old!"

That was also a time when sports equipment import duty was a huge amount, and so good-quality golf balls and clubs were a scarce commodity. "I was very impressed with the Delhi Golf Club and thought it was one of the best we played on the tour that year. But I believe there was some sort of ban on imports and most of the Indian players were using old or second-hand equipment," says Brian.

Brian also remembers other players he played with on the Asian circuit back then, with the current Asian Tour chairman Kyi Hla Han being one of them. "Han was a good friend back then," Brian says. "We hung out and played a lot of rounds together. Some others on the tour then were Jeff Maggert, Billy Ray Brown, TC Chen and TM Chen. I also played with Isao Aoki and Jumbo Ozaki while on the Asian Tour in 1987 and subsequently on the US PGA Tour as well."

The win was special. "It was my second win in the first five Asian Tour events that year and it was a terrific thrill. The small metal trophy I received, sits on a shelf in my family room," Brian says.
We certainly do hope that our golfer-turned-entrepreneur is in India for the Silver Jubilee celebrations in three years from now.

Image courtesy: www.papajohns.com

Posted by: 'hopper
0 comments  

Categories:
, ,

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)