Yet, in Niphad tehsil of this North Maharashtra district, 50 village children are spending their weekends learning to swing a golf club — and some are already making their mark in junior competitions. NASHIK: Golf is hardly the sport one would expect children from farming and working-class families in rural Nashik to take up.
I used to visit local government schools and explain the game to them. One of the initial concerns among parents was that golf training should not come at the cost of their children’s education. “Golf is not an easy sport. “I had never heard of golf. We used to play football and cricket. But after Bagmar Sir inducted me into the training programme three years ago, I gradually developed a passion for golf. I even find time to play for a couple of hours after school on weekdays.
Five children joined the training programme in 2019. The number has now grown to 50,” Bagmar said. Because the children did not know anything about golf, “Initially, it was a challenging task. Because all the equipment was provided free of cost, “We were curious to try this new sport, especially.
Bagmar said the children’s academic progress is monitored regularly and that they have continued to perform well in school. It requires perseverance, discipline and concentration,” he said. Bhalotia said he saw considerable potential among the young golfers and wanted the programme to go beyond teaching them the sport. Apart from golf, I conduct online classes after their training sessions to teach them about the sport, life skills and English,” Bhalotia said. My focus now is to do well in the upcoming tournaments,” Ajay said. But now we want to become professional golfers with the help of Bagmar Sir and Bhalotia Sir,” they said.
“What I have seen over the last year is that many of these village children have the talent to become professional golfers.
