Chennai woman sets up private golf academy To The Tee in B’luru

CHENNAI: Aditi Ashok made history when she stood 49 in the Rolex Rankings, becoming the first Indian to be ranked among the top-50 in the world.

Aditi, who learnt the sport in Bengaluru, had said in a media interaction that she had to be dragged away from the greens at the end of the day in her formative years, at closing time.

She is not alone. In Full Swing, the Netflix sports documentary series, Finau’s father says that he could not afford to send his sons Tony and Gipper to the public parks since they charged for the golf balls; therefore, he converted his garage for the boys to practice their long shots, availing of the public parks only for chipping and putting practice.

As a matter of fact, the prep sessions of various top Tour players in the above-mentioned documentary are pure gold.

Playtime and infinity: Ask aspiring junior golfers on what they require in order to improve their game, the answer is likely to be a place to practice without worrying about a golf club’s closing hours or sharing the practice range with other recreational golfers.

The few private coaching/driving centres that are available down south rarely replicate a fully-fledged golf course. Which is why the To The Tee Academy in Bengaluru, near the airport, comes as something of a boon. And the Academy has a Chennai connect to it.

Visionary: To The Tee is the product of Indumathi Baskar, who grew up in Chennai’s CIT Colony. The idea for the Academy was born out of a need to satisfy her son Abhinav. When the Touche golf range, where he practised regularly, shut down, the boy was inconsolable.

According to him, hitting on the practice mat in a golf club does not come close to playing on grass. “He kept saying that for golf to improve, we need public ranges or private ones. He was insistent that we come up with a practice range with all the bells and whistles. He even drew some designs on paper, and he was not even 10 years old then,” says Indumathi.

She herself was not very impressed with the sport, when she was first introduced to it in Chennai by her neighbour Dr. B Ramamurthy. “I used to think it was a game for the elderly and the retired. How wrong was I?” she recalls with a laugh.

With her son’s mounting pressure, Indumathi and her husband discussed the nitty gritty of the project. While land and other logistics were progressing, Indumathi visited as many junior golf tournaments as possible, to understand the game better.

Mirror image: The design of To The Tee range, spread over 20 acres, was largely pencilled by Abhinav, who drew six bunkers in his concept note. Golf has changed his personality, and he has come a long way since losing sight in one eye as a baby.

The range allows one to play shots off the grass, rather than just the mat. It also has facilities for target pitching and six types of bunkers. “The youngsters who are regulars at TTT have no fear of bunkers,” observes Indumathi. The putting green extends over 20,000 Sq. Ft with 12 pin positions. Additionally, there is a nine hole, all par 3, course, where practising and perfecting every aspect of the game is possible. An important allure: there are no restrictions on timings.

Indumathi roped in Lawrence Brothridge from the UK as the head coach. He is a David better certified coach – better is credited with having fixed Nick Faldo’s swing, besides working with many top Pros, including Lydia Ko.

Finding the right man for the curator’s job was key and in this, Indumathi has a happy associate who was the greens keeper at Touche. Claiming that hers is a one-of-a-kind venture, Indumathi feels that more will enter the fray, given the exponential growth in junior golf in many states.