Golf Instructor – Romit Bose
Golf flourishes in Europe and the Americas due to better infrastructure. They have a well-customised junior training programme that helps interested children learn the basics. More public courses and academies help them practice and implement tips easily too. But in contrast, India lacks good training academies except the one at the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC). Apart from the Delhi Development Authority’s Qutab Golf Club, there are no public courses either. When golf instructor Romit Bose has started his first junior programme in 1999, very few people appreciated his initiative. Bose, himself an active professional then, started off with 125 amateurs. Unsurprisingly, only 40 of them are now playing on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) circuit, with a good number having already picked up their first title. His trainees included the likes of Chiragh Kumar, Manav Jaini, Amardeep Sinh Malik, Shaurya Singh and others. Bose added as “India lacks depth in the game in comparison with Western countries. This is because there are just three to four quality coaches and there are no good golf academies. One needs good infrastructure to improve standards”.
Bose feels lack of confidence in their swing and short game due to poor initial guidance. “I’m disappointed with news about pros carrying out technical changes even now. Everyone has a natural way of swinging the club subject to his body weight, frame and height. But these golfers are misguided by people around them.” It was only in 2004 that the Indian Golf Union (IGU) came up with a certification programme to assess the ability of coaches. But the IGU took time to realise that only certification was not a solution. Instead, a dedicated programme is now required. In India there is a huge and quite big platform for cricket and to develop cricketing skills despite of any other sports that are played worldwide. But even in that too we are struggling. Golf, the game is mainly supposed as an entertainment play for the richer people and the business class tycoons and some other respective. But we people are not looking it as a game and to get involved in that. But everything is made only if the base is provided strong. If many golf academics and trainees are made by our sports council of India the distance between the game and the people can be eradicated and we can be a challenge for the western countries not only in the economy and development but also in the sports of this kind too.
Tags: CGC, Chandigarh Golf Club, Golf, IGU, India, Indian Golf Union, Instructor, PGTI, Romit Bose
