A council member at IGU representing the Eastern zone today, I will lie if I say that I was always sure of my calling in life. As a teenager I was taking riding classes at Tollygunge club and had no special interest in golf. Then one day I saw Coach Brandon De Souza training Nonita, Ranjit and Shiraz among other youngsters comprising team India. Looking at their dedication and sincerity towards the sport I was at once enamored by its aura.

Impressed and inspired I took to the clubs in ’83 at 15years of age. There was no looking back once I had walked my first round on the course. My career in golf commenced with a series of victories at Tollygunge club. The credibility earned through these small successes was further fuelled by the regional level feats which in those times were equated to national level achievements.My big break came in ’85 when I played a tournament hosted by American Express. I guess my performance made quite an impact on the sponsors for they picked me from the women’s category for a scholarship to be trained in London by Leslie Jones. (Milkha Singh was chosen from the men’s category).

Vandana Aggarwal

This was a welcome surprise as I did not expect it considering the lady representing American Express for some reason had cold shouldered me initially.

I returned from London a year later in ‘87and became a part of Team India as an amateur. I played the amateur circuit till 2006 and turned pro in 2007. From here I went on to win many international opens like Sri Lanka, Pakistan among others. Any regrets? No, I have none. I am certain that though late I chose the right profession and have given it a hundred percent. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yes, I do believe that I could have done better had I been trained more. When I was maturing as a national player we did not have too many national level coaches. But then dearth of coaches is a problem golf fraternity faces till date. According to me for women there is a larger underlying problem. Lady coaches will be a more well received change for the women/girls who quit golf or lose interest because their male coaches do not connect with them at some level.

For a golfer his/ her formative years are the most crucial. The coach above all plays a very important role in moulding a young golfer’s future. Considering this more women coaches should be welcomed aboard. Apart from this Indian women need to remove a lot of mental blocks before they can emerge as international competitors. The sport is one which does not yield instant results for majority of the golfers. Women in India, for myriad reasons like marriage, children (even complexion!) among others are not given enough time to mature into serious players.

The most glaring problem however, is the lack of public courses in the country. This issue has been brought up repeatedly as it affects the number of golfers in the country for not everyone can afford to be a member at the exclusive clubs. Lady golfers are no different, for even now not many draw a six figure salary at the end of a month. But it would not be fair not to bring to light the dramatic change in the women’s golf today. While the average entry age has gone down the performance level is exceeding the expectations and I do not see this transformation taking a U- turn.

As for me, I feel I am one of the most blessed women in this country. I had a decent start and today I am employed with Oil India Limited, a council member at IGU and sometimes I even take on the role of a coach for the juniors. I still travel for tournaments every month and have no intention of giving up the sport that has launched me into this panorama of consequence.

Article from syndicated source