Shiv Kapur on the unseen advantages of being a golfer

Shiv Kapur talks about why everyone should try a round of golf at least once

Thwacckk! Clingg! Thunkkhh! Bang smack in the middle of a golf course your ears slowly tune in to the sounds of a tee off. Those in the know say they can tell how far a shot will go just by listening to the satisfying whack of a club against the ball. At the recently concluded Marriott Bonvoy Golf Tournament in Bengaluru, Shiv Kapur says how and why he took to the sport.

“Like almost any child growing up in India, I loved cricket — I still do. If there’s golf and cricket on TV, I watch cricket,” Shiv says with candour. “I started playing golf at the age of nine. My father made a small club for me when I was a child and I would hit a ball around while he played at the Delhi Golf Club.

“People would ask, ‘Why don’t you play a real sport?’ especially at that age. Golf always had this tag of being an old man’s game, but thankfully that changed with the entry of popular players such as Tiger Woods. What intrigued me the most was that it is an individual sport. That drew me to the game — you are your own referee, your own judge. It teaches you etiquette and life lessons.”

Having played golf for over 30 years now, Shiv says there are many things a child can learn from playing a sport. “Golf is one of those few games where you wish your opponent luck before you start. You learn to wait your turn. And win or lose, at the end of a game, you take off your hat, shake hands and leave.”

He adds, ”I can play a round of golf with somebody and I can tell you about their personality; whether they are honest or not. Golf is about etiquette — how you conduct yourself, your respect for others.”

Shiv says golf is essentially a mental sport. “I believe what separates a good golfer from a great one is their mental toughness. The most challenging thing about this sport is as simple as it looks — you are hitting a stationary object. In every other sport it is a reflex action, you are reacting to a moving ball or a fellow player. When it is a stationary ball, however, a certain amount of mental discipline is required.

“In golf, no two shots are ever the same. You play on different surfaces, slopes, weather conditions; there is constant change — the only thing you can control is your mind and your execution. It is like a mental game of chess where you are fighting your mental demons with every round.”