Over the years I have enjoyed the game of golf immensely, and have learnt some interesting lessons during this journey. Two of the most valuable lessons were taught to me by two very interesting individuals.
Radhika Tulpule Kanitkar is a fantastic athlete, a two time women's national tennis champion and the most qualified tennis coach in India. She runs her own tennis academy in Pune. Radhika plays at the same golf club where I play, and therefore I have had opportunities to watch her play golf, and have played a few rounds with her as well. For someone who plays so little golf, Radhika is a hell of a good player, and taught me the first valuable lesson in golf, which is to maintain an even keel, whether the going is good or bad.
One autumn afternoon a few years ago I watched her make par on hole number 10 at Poona Club golf course, and that par summed up her attitude. She hit a good drive, and had a wedge to the green. The lie was good, she took a couple of practice swings and then duffed the shot - the ball travelled less than 10 yards. Most golfers would have hurled a few expletives at themselves, or cursed under their breath at the very least. However Radhika promptly turned around, smiled at the caddy with an expression that said "What was that?". She walked to the ball again, addressed it, and hit a perfect pitch to about 1 foot from the pin. Once again, she turned around, and smiled at the caddy with an expression which said "What was that?". She did not expect to put the pitch shot that close, just as she did not expect to duff the previous one. The duffed shot did not get her down, and the great shot did not put her head in the clouds. Radhika recognizes that ups and downs are part of playing sports, but one does best by trying hard, and maintaining an even keel.
The second valuable lesson came from Dr. Date, known to all golfers in Pune simply as Doc. I wrote a blog post about Doc a few years ago. Doc taught me to be relentless. One can never count Doc out of a round. He doesn't give up, and he doesn't let up. Every shot has his full attention, and it is the most important shot in the world.
The Doc way is to never give up, to believe that your next shot will be a good one. And the Radhika way is to do your best and not worry too much about the result - good or bad. These are valuable lessons not just in golf, but in every walk of life.
Thanks Radhika and Doc.
