A whole in one
Rajendra Bajpai

The Romance of Indian Open (1964-2003)
by K.R. Wadhwaney. Sidharth Publications, New Delhi. Rs 600.

GOLF has been played in India, mainly Kolkata, since the middle of the 19th century and Indian Open has been held in India since 1964, but no comprehensive book on Indian golf was written until veteran sports journalist K.R. Wadhwaney decided to right that wrong.

He has just published The Romance of Indian Open (1964-2003), the first book on Indian golf, its history, hoary traditions and records of the Indian Open. Wadhwaney has done a job that should have been undertaken by the Indian Golf Union.

The reason why golf attracts so little attention in India—the media has started paying some attention to the game in the last two decades—is that the myths about the game abound. A popular myth is that people start playing golf when they reach the middle age and want to walk for health reasons and entertain themselves at the same time.

Others think that the game is too expensive. To some extent it may be true, but in some of the small towns of India, one can play a round of golf for less than Rs 50. Wadhwaney’s book goes deep into golf history in India and is full of anecdotes. For instance, few of us would know that golf was played in Calcutta, perhaps as early as 1829, at Dum Dum. The game came to Delhi around 1911 during the Delhi Durbar. Wadhwaney has dug out little-known facts about golf in India. His research has led him to write about people who promoted golf in India in the 19th century.

The real pleasure came from reading chapters on the Indian Open, where Indians and foreigners struggled hard. The chapter on Billoo Sethi’s victory at Calcutta brings to life that event, as Wadhwaney describes in detail what happened during those four memorable days in 1965. Billoo was an amateur when he won the Indian Open. Australian professional Peter Thomson and G. Wolstenholme struggled to keep pace with him. When they could not, they decided to fight each other. Thomson returned to India the next year and claimed the title. Reading this chapter is like watching the re-run of an old movie.

There are copious references to Indian professionals like Ali Sher—two chapters are devoted to him—Arjun Atwal, Jyoti Randhawa, Feroze Ali, Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaurav Ghei and others. Indian newspapers are now paying more attention to golf, but remain cricket centric. That has helped in making cricket more popular here, but has not helped the cause of golf. The obvious result is that parents encourage children to play cricket rather than golf, but there is money in golf now. Jyoti Randhawa, for instance, took home $ 1,70,000 recently when he won a championship in Japan.

Wadhwaney’s book provides Indian golfers with much encouragement and makes for an excellent reading. Although Wadhwaney has never held a golf club, he understands the game well. You might for a moment think that he is an old pro.

HOME