Learning to Golf From the Pros

Golf is not a sport I knew too much about before last week. I knew some of the basic rules, but had never played it in my life. However, last week I got an invite to attend a Golf Clinic to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Karnataka Golf Association. I accepted the invite thinking this was my only chance to understand if golf was for me.

The golf clinic was conducted by ace golfers Anisha Padukone and Neha Tripathi. When we reached bang on time, they were there patiently waiting for all the bloggers to arrive.

The golfing pros
The golfing pros

While waiting, we helped ourselves to some food and drink, and eyed the child golfers who were going through their lesson. Seeing the way they were teeing off and how far their balls were going, I thought how hard could it be?

That thinking evaporated the first time I stepped onto a driving range and attempted to hit that little white ball. Golf is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. And, I found that I really sucked at it 🙁 . I kept missing the ball or hitting it places I didn’t want it to.

It took me almost an hour to understand how to grip the golf club properly, and then more time trying to swing and actually make contact with the ball. I have to say that Neha who was coaching me was super-patient – explaining the basics of GASP (Grip, Aim, Stance, and Posture).

K got the hang of it a lot quicker than I did and was soon hitting shots in the range like a pro. He soon upgraded to practicing putting on the golf course, and did pretty good there too.

K really got into the game and made some excellent shots
K really got into the game and made some excellent shots

I spent more time in the range just trying to connect with the ball 🙁 .

Still, I had a great time learning how to play the sport, and ended the hour feeling more at home on the range.

With Anisha and Neha
Posing with the pros – Anisha and Neha

The golf session on a very hot day made us really hungry and thirsty. After the clinic, we retreated to the canopied dining area to cool down and refresh ourselves with food and drink. The lunch was provided by the Sara Group (who manage Florsheim, Barbeque Nation, and RUOSH).

I wasn’t extremely hungry, but this cold Simba beer was just perfect after the hot morning I had.

Super-refreshing bottle of Simba beer
Super-refreshing bottle of Simba beer

K had a full lunch, and we just relaxed for a while enjoying the wonderful ambiance and cool breeze. After lunch, it was time to head out for another blog event. Yup, it was a busy yet fun and action-packed Saturday.

Relaxing ambiance in the club
Relaxing ambiance in the club

Overall, this was one of the most fun and unique blog events I have ever attended. And I really appreciate how sincerely Neha and Anisha taught a bunch of novices without even once rolling their eyes.

Although, now that I know my athletic limits, I will stick to mini-golfing until I get the hang of the game.

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