A tee party for kids: Jamshedpur children take to golf with unexpected fervour

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, July 20 : Children of Jamshedpur are fast giving the national obsession a miss and ditching the cricket bat in favour of the golf club. Thanks to the world-class facility, the kids of the steel city are slowly taking keen interest in the game.

The future golfers sporting trousers and T-shirts can be seen exchanging jargons like birdie (a score count) and caddie (a person who carries the golfer�s clubs) at two prominent golf courses at Beldih and Golmuri Clubs.

Many children in the city have taken to golf with unexpected fervour. And with city golf courses opening doors of opportunity for use of the greens, the game is accessible to far more students now than ever.

Yashica Agrawal, a student of Loyola School and one of the promising players, who takes regular classes at Beldih Golf Course, said that she is in love with the game. 

Her mother Neha Agrawal said that though her daughter went with her friends two three times to watch the game but she gradually developed interest in golf. Now she loves it and wants to represent India.   

City-based educationalist Leena Adesara whose sons Manan and Shaurya are emerging talent in golf circuit said: � Golf is a game of constant learning and practicing. Children learn a lot from this game on a social, emotional and physical level. My kid Manan has been playing golf since 6 years and Shaurya since a year… i have seen them develop in all these skills and can definately see positive long lasting effects in the future.

Few parents would have said that a decade ago. Today, they take days off from work just to accompany their child to practice sessions. Most of them, being golfers themselves, are the reason behind their children�s interest in the game.

The city is well equipped with golf infrastructure. Situated near Beldih Club, Beldih Golf Course consists of nine holes. The course has the Drive Range and Proshop facilities. The Drive Range at BOC Pavilion allows golfers to play at under floodlights. This allows golfers to play after work during evenings. Golmuri Golf Course is situated near Golmuri Club, has 18- hole.

Golf coach Mohammed Kamaal said that facilities available in the city have played a key role in the promotion of Golf. The game has come a long way in the steel city.  � We have Golf Training Centre that is grooming the young talent in the city. We are catching them young and kids from five years and above can join the centre for training. The coaching is held from Monday to Friday,� said Kamaal.