Age no bar as octogenarian tees off with nine-year-old
Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 27
Age is just a number. The ongoing 30th Punjab Ladies Golf Tournament being played at the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) is witnessing nine-year-old golfer Gairat Kahlon compete with 87-year-old Gurbinder Johal, who is one of the founder members of the golf club. The passion-driven golfers are swaying on the greens regardless of their age and all they want is a good round of golf.
Son a pro, mother 9-hole specialist
One of the eldest golfers of the CGC, Gurbinder has a strong connection with the sport. She used to accompany her husband Hardial Johal to the greens when the club was not so famous. While Hardial would focus on learning golf basics, Gurbinder and three children —Perneet, Ajaypal and Amandeep — would try to learn the rules of the sport. When Gurbinder decided to master the 9-hole event after reaching her 70s, Perneet and Ajaypal went on to become professional golfers. Amandeep went on to play for India and competed on the Asian Tours for 20 years before becoming a certified coach.
“My husband inspired me to play the sport. I am now a regular at the CGC and compete among the youngsters. And, I don’t use (golf) carts during the play...just walk through the course,” said Gurbinder. On being asked if she played for medals, she laughed and replied, “Do you think medals matter at this age? It’s all about the love for the sport, my family’s attachment to the golf club and hunger to compete against youngsters.”
Gurbinder was accompanied by other female golfers who are in their 80s. “At my age, when most people want to sit and relax... I ensure that I play three-four sessions of golf at the club. I regret starting late (playing golf) in my life, but even learning the sport during my 70s was tough. I am lucky to be from a golfing family. I think everyone should focus on playing a sport, rather than running to find comfort in materialistic things,” she added.
The youngest participant
While Gurbinder regrets not starting practising golf early in life, nine-year-old local golfer Gairat Kaur Kahlon is in full swing at the age when kids would rather like playing video games all day long. The nine-year-old golfer has won all tournaments in her age category organised by the CGC. She was the winner of the South Africa Junior International Challenge at San Lameer Golf Club and also won the National Junior Tournament at Prestige Golfshire, Bengaluru. She is the youngest junior golfer from India ever got invited by Augusta National Golf Club Georgia, US, to participate in the National DCP Tournament, which is scheduled for April next year. “I developed interest in golf while accompanying my elder sister Rabab to the local golf range and course for practice. I dream of representing India along with my sister at the international circuit,” said Gairat.
She has already cleared three levels to reach the US tournament. “I have been invited to play at the Kolkata Open Ladies Tournament at Tollygunge to be held next year, considering my lower handicap at this age,” added Gairat, who started playing golf at age of four.
