From playing golf in the 'khets' of Israna village to winning junior world championships in America and even being invited as a star guest on Aamir Khan's hit show 'Satyamev Jayate' - It's been a 360 degree change for 10-year old Shubham Jaglan. A milkman's son, Shubham was taken under the wings of The Golf Foundation in 2009. They soon helped his family relocate to the capital, provided him with every facility to pursue golf seriously and there's been no looking back ever since.
Shubham isn't the only prodigy produced by The Golf Foundation; the initiative is also behind the success of 2-time winner on the Asian Tour, Rashid Khan and one of India's top golf professionals, Ashok Kumar amongst others.
The brain child of former Asian Games Gold Medallist Amit Luthra, the Golf Foundation was set up in 2000 with the idea of helping golfers at the time they need it the most. The initiative helps young golfers aged between 10-18 years from not so privileged backgrounds with coaching, facilities, tournament exposure and equipment.
Amit Luthra, Founder CEO, The Golf Foundation admits that it's the right time to spread their presence pan India, "We want to provide the necessary tools for kids to take a shot at becoming not just world beaters but also provide an alternate source of employment for those who don't make it".
As part of their vision, The Golf Foundation announced 4 Zonal Centers in Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune this week. The top 8 Qualifiers from each zone will be given support for every aspect of their golf game. What's more, an elite panel of coaches and courses has been identified for each zone as part of the programme.
The Golf Foundation hopes to increase both, the number of centers and trainees in the next 2 years. Amandeep Johl, Head Coach of The Golf Foundation insists, "Golf is an expensive sport and our effort will help kids from humble backgrounds realise their dream. I have noticed that those are the kids who have the will to excel."
With a healthy annual corpus of close to 2 crore rupees, the Golf Foundation is probably one of the few initiatives with enough backing and sponsor interest. What's more, with patrons like Sachin Tendulkar, Aamir Khan, Virender Sehwag and shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, it's likely to only grow from strength to strength. Let's hope with initiative like these, a Major winner from India will soon become a reality!