The monsoon has arrived in Thailand; but the clouds have taken a break over the weekend in Phuket. The sun shines brightly over Laguna Phuket and the luxurious pool villas nestled around a lagoon at The Banyan Tree, and the Laguna Golf Phuket golf course. Measuring 6,756 yards, the 18-hole, par-71 course features scenic lagoons, coconut groves and undulating fairways.
Jeev Milkha Singh, India’s number one golfer, is all set to share his learning of the game in the splendid setting. Singh, 50, who turned pro in 1993, starts with the must-haves in his golf bag apart from the wealth of experience of playing on myriad courses all around the world. “I carry 15-16 clubs in my golf bag,” he says. And then he takes out an old battered club which he uses to line himself up to make sure his “alignment is correct”.
He then goes on to share his golfing mantra—the line he repeats as often as he can. “Golf is not about hitting it as far with strength but with rhythm. What works is good rhythmic swing. Your muscles stay coordinated each time.” Easier said than done; he smiles and agrees with a nod of his head.
While the deeply ingrained golfing lessons have not changed over the weeks, months, years and decades of being on tour for the first Indian to compete and win on the European Tour and the first Indian to play in a Masters Tournament (Augusta 2007), what has changed is some training routines and schedule, and career goals. Earlier, Jeev would hit 300 golf balls a day while practicing. “Nowadays I hit maybe 100,” he says.
As the senior-most golf pro in India, Jeev has seen a lot. With no peers, he had to learn through his own mistakes and yet come up with results. He has wins on the Asian Tour, the Japan Tour, the European Tour and fine finishes on the PGA Tour. The four-time winner on the top European and Japanese circuits was also the first Indian to break into the world’s top 50 and finish in the top 10 of a Major when he tied 9th at the 2008 PGA Championship.
But golf took a back seat when he lost both his parents—the legendary Milkha Singh and Nirmal Kaur—to Covid-19 in quick succession in 2021. For six months he did not touch a club. But another budding golfer in the family, his 12-year-old son Harjai, helped him shake the trauma off and get back to golf.
Jeev has returned to golf as part pro and part Senior Tour player by making a gradual move to the Senior Tour in July with a tournament in Scotland. In a freewheeling chat with THE WEEK, he speaks about his plans as a senior pro, how he struggled to cope with the loss of his parents, the prospects of the rebel circuit and what he sees in his son. Excerpts:
Q/ You are playing on the Senior Tour now. How would you describe this phase?
A/ When I joined the Senior Tour, they said ‘baby has joined us’. Reminds me of when I became a professional golfer at 21. I started my professional career in Asia, and now I have started my Senior Tour at 50, in Japan. The good part of the Senior Tour is, I’ll put it this way, it’s my retirement or pension fund. Because there are no cuts on Senior Tour. It is only for three days. Everybody gets paid and there are only 60 to 80 guys playing. That is the good part of it. You see guys 60 plus, so fit and hitting the ball so far. People think the Senior Tour is not competitive, but it is very competitive.
Q/ How will you balance Senior Tour and regular Pro Tour events?
A/ I am going to play about 11 events on Senior Tour in Japan, eight or nine on European Tour, and I will play regular seven to nine events on the Asian Tour. That is enough for me, because with time and age I realised that my body can’t keep up. I want to last till around 60 plus on Senior Tour. If I have to do that I have to pace myself. And I want to stay competitive.
Q/ Was there a lot of soul searching or was it easy to get to this point?
A/ After mom and dad passed away last year, I gave up playing golf. My son plays golf. I realised after six months of not touching my golf clubs I did not want to be a bad example for him. My father always said that you had to move on and be the right example for your children.
Q/ When you decided to move to the Senior Tour, was there anything left unfulfilled on the regular Pro Tour?
A/ I wanted to win a Major on the main tour. That is one thing I haven’t done. Would like to do it on Senior Tour for my parents. Those are the goals I have set for myself.
Q/ Are you happy and satisfied with the way your career has shaped up?
A/ Yes, I am very happy. I am very fortunate I made a living out of what I loved doing. I am self-employed, I have travelled the world, met a lot of good people, made a lot of friends all over and played the best courses. It is a fantastic game. It keeps you grounded and humble. Every week is different. Makes you the best player one week and you miss the cut next week. So it keeps you wanting more because it does not give you everything.
Q/ You are doing golf clinics in between tournaments. You came to Laguna in Phuket. How does it work out?
A/ It works out very well. I was in any case supposed to play in Singapore; Phuket is an hour away from there. I was going to take a week off as I had played four weeks in a row. I went home, spent three days. A lot of stuff had to be done as I was away for three months. I came here yesterday, did the clinic and I’ll be off tomorrow to play in Singapore. I have already been doing these clinics. In future I will do these things more. In Senior Tour the main event starts on Friday, whereas its Thursday on the Pro Tour. So you have time.
Q/ How is Harjai doing in golf?
A/ He is a good player. But to be honest I have encouraged him, but not pushed him. I feel if I push him too much right now he won’t appreciate our relationship. He will say ‘My father is pushy; he is always telling me what to do’. So I keep my distance. My friends Amritinder Singh and Jassi Grewal are coaching him. I tell them if I have to tell him something. But he loves golf, he wants to be a professional player. His heart is set on it, but golf is such that you never know what is going to come your way. You have to have an education. That is very important. So I have told him that study has to be completed. After that if you are good enough a player then turn pro.
Any tour in the world is competitive. These kids coming out of college are ready to win, so he better be prepared. If you are turning pro, you should be winning in the next 10 weeks! He is 12; he is very young right now. I don’t want him to miss on his childhood. Let him play different sports.
Q/ Covid hit everyone. How do you see the Professional Golf Tour of India coming back and are you satisfied with quality of players?
A/ I think Uttam Mundy has done a fantastic job with PGTI. Full marks for the kind of scheduling he has produced after Covid. The treasurer and board members have done a good job. And the tour is growing. This year, it is worth 06 crore. Getting Kapil Dev on board is a good move.
Talking about the quality of players—fantastic. I am so happy. The only thing I tell them is that ‘you have got it all; the only thing you are missing is the belief that are you good enough to win on PGTI’. That is the belief system you need.
Q/ What do you want to see PGTI achieve?
A/ I would like to see PGTI touch Rs20 crore in the next three years. There are three things in this. First, there is more awareness about golf in our country. Families have started understanding that children can make a living from this. Two, sponsors say it is good to be involved in the game when this happens. The third thing is because players are doing well there is awareness.
Q/ Your thoughts on the breakaway tour—LIV Golf.
A/ If a player fulfils his commitment to whichever tour he is a member of and if he gets the opportunity to make more money, he should be allowed to do that. If I am an Asian Tour member, the minimum I have to play is seven to eight events. I do that. Then if I am given a few more events to make more money on any tour, I should be allowed to do so.
Q/ But PGA and ET have come together to take on LIV tour. And Majors may not allow top golfers to play.
A/ I think what they should have done is sit down and sort it out. Right now just too many egos are involved. Fighting like this is not good for the game.
Q/ Is it good for golf to have a breakaway tour?
A/ It is not a breakaway tour. It is good to have more money as a player. I think great players are playing for more money. Its a double-edged sword. It hurts them also. If big names are not there why would sponsors back your event?
Q/ Do you expect LIV tour to get bigger?
A/ I don’t know, but it is more money in the game. I hope and pray they sort it out.