Chennai missing in action at South Zone Junior feeder tournaments

CHENNAI: Play golf, eat, sleep, repeat. This is all we want to do, the 60 odd children told me at the Ootacamund Gymkhana golf course earlier this week. They were in Ooty to compete in the South Zone Junior tournament, the Official IGU Zonal Feeder tournament. While there were a number of them from Telangana, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Wellington and Kerala, there was not a single entry from Chennai, a worrying absence, given that the National Games are only a few months away.

Only a few days ago, on April 17, 18 and 19, these young golfers, ranging from seven years to 16, had played the other legs of Junior tournament (there are 13 in all), in Coimbatore, before heading to Kodaikanal and playing there between April 21 and 23. From April 25, they were ready for more competitive golf in Ooty. Quite a number of juniors are seasoned in the circuit, having played in Chennai last year, at the Junior leg held in Cosmo TNGF and Madras Gymkhana Golf Annexe, respectively. As before, there are 11 participants from the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, a clear pointer to the success of the government- driven golf programme there.

Holiday overbooked

Ooty is teeming with holiday makers, and traffic is a nightmare no matter how efficiently the harried traffic police are working hard to manage the crowds. Residents complain about the presence of tourist vehicles—naturally, since what used to be a ten-minute drive for them now stretches to nearly two hours. However, the junior golfers do not allow anything to affect them. Playful, cheerful, and full of energy when chasing each other down the corridors, they transform completely when it is tee time. It is a shotgun start and they quickly walk to their respective tee boxes. Even the youngest category competitors—under nine years—engage with their caddies on which club to use on a particular hole.

Future of junior golf

As is his wont Jayanan Satagopal, who runs the tournament with the efficiency one has come to expect of him, with years of experience in conducting junior tournaments is cross checking scores as soon as they are brought in. On his table are not only tournament groupings and certificates but also a bulky medical kit, filled with bandaid, cotton, oral rehydration sachets, etc. A player calls him for a ruling and he walks to the particular hole to settle the matter. One mother comes in to hand in her son’s card and he asks her to send her son with it, along with the boy’s group players. Another girl raises a doubt over her marker, and he asks for her portion of the score card and cross checks the scoring.

Srmc’s sports fitness centre

While it is a matter of pride for many parents that their child is playing golf, some are openly discussing formal education and the time needed for sports training. I remember that a few years ago, cricketer D Vasu had been actively involved in setting up the biomedicine and sports fitness centre at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College. It focused on both preventive and corrective measures for sports persons. It has gone on to become one of the best in the country and its undergraduate program in Sports Medicine launched many sportspersons into a solid career. I know of quite a few in the cricketing circles who are keen on taking fitness of all sportspeople to another level.

Winners pose with Jayanan Satagopal (blue T shirt) and the club secretary

For any sport to take off, there should be an eco-system. Whether it is tennis, cricket, badminton, athletics or golf, an aspiring youngster needs a lot of support at every stage of his growth and development. Schools, public and private support, training and support staff and infrastructure are all vital in a talented youngster reaching his full potential. We have it in certain sports, but not in all sports. Time to dovetail?

(The writer is an avid golfer )