September 2016, ` 100

GolfPlus • Septem

ber 2016 • ` 100

Registration No. UP/GBD-68/2015-2017 RNI No. UPENG/2008/25541

MONTHLY

PANASONIC OPEN

LOOKING BACK AT THE INAUGURAL EDITION

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with the smoothest swing on the Indian Tour. Working hard on his game post a recent wrist injury. We chatted recently at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at the Four Season’s Anahita course. To discover we both knew the Sacramento, California area well; I used to teach college there, and he goes there as often as he can to be with relatives, and to practice. “What I get in Sacramento just cannot be found in India. They have impeccably maintained grass off which to hit on their ranges. Distances on the ranges are clearly identifi ed. Balls are almost new. I get my favourite instructor to study my game when needed. You can practice all types of chips and putts. And there is no crunch of numbers; sometimes I am the only one on the practice range, and can hit balls for hours and hours.” Seems almost too good to be true.Or take the case of my golf buddy Ravi Mullick.

BUNTA’S BANANA

Ravi has been fi ghting the chipping yips for as long as I can remember! He has tried every possible remedy known to mankind. Including a visit to the top-rated Leadbetter Academy. Every golfer he plays with offers him some advice! But to no avail…So last year a bunch of us guys go to Dubai. To watch Rory at the Dubai Desert Classic. And play complimentary rounds of golf, courtesy Apexlynx. We decide to play at the Creek, one of the older courses in town. Club member Adhip is in our 4ball. Seeing Ravi’s chipping woes, in sheer desparation Adhip made a suggestion: “When we break for lunch after the front 9,” he told Ravi, “take a ½-hour lesson from one of our instructors. He is the very best for helping those with chipping problems.”We watched Ravi get a lesson as we dug in to our hamburgers and fries. The instruction seemed spot on. And, guess what? Ravi’s second

By Rahul Sood

golf in Mumbai. The routine is to fi ght the abominable traffi c to reach my golf club so as to not miss my tee time. Rarely does one get time to warmup on the range or take a

lesson. It’s do a few stretches, play a fun round with your buddies, have a quick beer, and head back home.So how do you improve your game? With the exception of Willingdon Golf Captain Akshay Kilachand, who remains a near-scratch golfer without any practice, the rest of us more mortal golfers have to put in time practicing. Sadly, practise facilities in India are rather shabby, though improving. And I would rate our instructors as average, but also improving. So, consider this as an alternative: get the practice and instruction you need, but get it offshore. Even Gaganjit Bhullar, one of India’s top pro golfers, leaves town to practice. The man

TRAVEL

9 holes were like a Dream Round, because his yips had vanished! Thanks, Adhip!For me, the best place to hone my game is Mauritius. It cannot be beat for a chill-out family golf vacation. Clean, proximate, upmarket. It’s a direct 6-hour fl ight away from Mumbai. Visa on arrival. Exquisite golf resorts to pick from. Delicious food. Fun activities to keep the kids busy. Amazing deep blue ocean waters. Pristine beaches. And the weather just ideal year-round. Mauritius. Where time slows down to a wonderful crawl. So you have time to do all the things you have wanted to do but could not. Where, if you stay at a golf resort, you can avail of fabulous practice facilities

and excellent instructors. Take Frenchman Matthieu Millet, Teaching Pro at the top-of-the-heap 2500+ hectacre Heritage resort in South Mauritius. He does not come cheap. But he is good! I tell him that my swing has been christened ‘Bunta’s Banana’ by my friends, and as soon as I hit my fi rst shot, a standard exaggerated slice, he understands the reason for the sobriquet. I chew his ears off with the history of lessons taken and tips received to rid myself of this affl iction. At 65 I can ill afford the loss of distance that the slice brings with it.A few shots hit, a careful study of my all-important Ball Flight, taking a short video of my swing, laid bare the reasons for the ugly curve of my golf ball. It was a squiggle I made to the swing path at the top of my swing. Remedial action followed, and lo and behold, I brought in a 1-over par score for the Front 9 at the tough Heritage that very day!Matthieu understands that most of his students are at the Heritage for a very short time. So, his approach is to tweak the swing you have rather than ramming a new swing down your throat. And, at all times, work within the golfer’s capacity. Keeping in mind key factors of the student, such as age, history of injuries, other sports played and temperament. As a result of this simple but multi-dimensional approach, guests bring in lower scores, go home smiling and frequently become repeat customers. Matthieu also often plays a few holes with his students, teaching course management, the importance of routine and committing to the shot. If you need, Matthieu also has access to Trackman and Flight Scope technology, which provide data on spin, speed, and more. Using

Matthieu’s approach to learning while playing, I had Teaching Pro Pierre-Noel Quirin join me for 9 holes at the Four Seasons resort course Anahita. Luckily there were few players on the course, so we could stop to work on my game at any time. He had me develop a smoother stroke for my putts and chips, where you keep the club aimed at the target. I tried these suggestions immediately after the round on the lavish Anahita practice area, and what a difference they made! Thank you, Pierre!Whether you stay at the Heritage of the Rogers Group or any of the other spectacular golf resorts in Mauritius, Constance’s Belle Mare, Beachcomber’s Paradis, Four Season’s Anahita, or Tamarina, your room is typically a mere stone’s throw away from the golf course and practice area. The one exception is the most challenging of Mauritius’ new breed of golf courses, Sun Resort’s Langer-designed Ile aux Cerfs, requiring a charming boat ride to get to. So at the Heritage you can take a lesson after a sumptuous breakfast at Annabella’s, return to chill by the pool, have a light lunch, take a short snooze, then go back for 9 holes or more. While leaving enough time to wade in the shallow waters off the beach, spend time with the kids, or even go waterskiing! Before going post-dinner to the elegant Cavendish Bar for an aperitif and to hear Jean Francois play a magnifi cent version of Summertime on his piano. The other wonderful thing that can happen at a golf resort in Mauritius is one that applies to the non-golfer: it can inspire one to start playing the game. It used to be that when Harinakshi and I vacationed in Mauritius, I would go play golf. While she did something else, like read a book, learn Tai Chi, or go to the gym. Yes, she has occasionally accompanied me while I golfed. Loved the plethora of natural fl ora and fauna at the Ile aux Cerfs. Understood what high winds can do to your ball at the pristine Anahita. And took some rather nice photos of me playing the immaculate Heritage. One day, while we were at the Paradis, you could have knocked me over with a feather when she asked me, “Will you show me how to play golf?” “Of course,” I said. “Let’s do it!” I borrowed an old ladies 7 iron from the Pro Shop, picked up the complimentary bucket of balls, found a quiet section on the practice range, and we were ready to go. And she learnt pretty fast! Let’s hope she continues to practice once back in Mumbai. So, when you travel for golf, don’t just play the game; also take advantage of the better practice facilities typically available there. So that you return an improved golfer.