From carrying to wielding
Manpriya Singh
One of the fables in golf circles goes that professional golfer Gary Player bought a house for his caddie, Eddie McCoy, after winning the Master’s in 1978. Strapping a bag to their shoulder is just the tee-off point of responsibilities. There is a lot that a good caddie packs in; from being an assistant to a companion on the greens, loyalist at all times and, in the perfect scenario, even the advisor - anything but a player himself. Unless, of course, they decide to stop being a caddie and start playing! Some of the city-based caddies-turned-players, show us how there is something so democratic about aspirations, and so is giving them a serious shot.
Play on
Sunny, 23, first came to know of the Chandigarh Golf Club when he visited the Sukhna Lake as a regular young boy would at the age of 12. “I entered the Golf Club for the first time at the age of 14 and that’s where I caddied for a good 12 years,” he shares how at the time he never thought about turning a player himself. Until 2015, when he bought his first-ever golf kit from the money saved by caddying. “This sport needs a lot of money, starting from the kit itself, which is nothing short of a huge investment,” shares the amateur player, who ranks all India 33 after having toured IGU in 2018 and 2019. “I hope to turn a professional next year.” Which is also what 18-year-old Sanju hopes too, having secured all-India amateur rank 30 after playing IGU tour 2018 and 2019. “I started caddying in 2012 and playing in 2014, but it became possible because of my Dubai-based sponsor for whom I caddied back then.”
No easy Sponsors
Talk of sponsors and they don’t come easy. “Especially if you have the label of a caddy attached to you,” 32 year-old Harinder Gupta, a caddie-turned-professional player speaks from experience. “I started as a 15-year-old boy when my friend got me on the course for the first time. There was something that hooked me. But from initial days, I was interested in playing the tournaments.” In 2000, he ranked first in India in the junior rankings, a position he retained well till 2004, when he eventually turned professional.
Once the will came, means were not far behind. “I started practicing with an iron rod which I bent to make it look like a club. For somebody from a humble background, it’s very tough to play this game. One needs to be physically fit, mentally alert and have a calm mind. I didn’t have the money at all to play and it’s an expensive game; right from the kit, starting range of which is Rs 1.50 lakh upwards. However, the club members encouraged me,” adds Sanju. Not the one meant for books, he is currently pursuing Class XI through Open Boards. “I will look for a job, but in this field itself.”
Struggle & success
Having been a caddie himself in the past, Gupta doesn’t commit the mistake of undermining a caddie’s contribution to the success of any player. “I feel a caddie is 50 per cent responsible for the winnings of any player.” But, unfortunately, the equations are a little different for anyone doing a ground check. “Here we don't accord that respect and status to caddies. But yes, they are quite instrumental in making a player win,” opines 28-year-old Akshay Sharma, a caddie-turned-pro, who won the PGTI tour of Infotech
Masters in 2018. "I myself learnt a lot as a caddie and after two years was given permission to play too,” he adds.
Here we don’t accord that respect and status to caddies. But yes, they are quite instrumental in making a player win. — Akshay sharma
I entered The Golf Club for the first time at the age of 14 and that’s where I caddied for a good 12 years — Sanju
This sport needs a lot of money, starting from the kit itself, which is nothing short of a huge investment. — Sunny
I started as a 15-year-old boy when my friend got me on the course for the first time. — Harinder Gupta
