50 G o l f P l u s F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5

FEATURE

n a game that rewards fl amboyance and technical prowess, it is quite surprising to fi nd that the top ranked professional in the country is someone who is self-taught and has a golf swing which can be

called unorthodox at best. Shankar Das,a fi ve time winner on the Professional Golf Tour of India is cut from a different cloth;

this Kolkota lad employs a technique which is an amalgamation of imagination and innovation; An interlock grip for the full swing and a cack-handed grip for the short game (cack-handed grip involves having the left hand below the right, for a right handed player). Shankar has used his short game to devastating effect in 2014; he obliterated the fi eld at the season ending McLeod Russel Tour Championship enroute

to becoming the number one player on the tour.

Humble beginningsHailing from a modest background Shankars ride to Indian Golfs summit has been a bumpy one;he picked up the game at Royal Calcutta Golf Club at the age of twelve and soon developed a knack for it. In order to support his golfi ng excursions he

By Shaurya Singh

G o l f P l u s F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 5 51

FEATURE

worked part-time at the golf club and soon realized that he would have to give up his studies, as balancing Golf with his school was becoming infeasible. His initial trysts with tournament golf were encouraging and thanks to the support from benefactors such as AV Bhagat, Shankar was able to participate in a few National tournaments.Encouraged by his tournament performances, he decided to turn professional in 2001; the initial years were tough and he found himself out of his depth. Apart from a few good tournaments, his initial years on tour were largely disappointing. He had to make had to make numerous trips to the Qualifying school in order to secure his playing rights and his career graph was not progressing as he had hoped, he was quite disillusioned with his performances and even contemplated giving up the sport.Reminiscing on the tough timesAround 2004 my game took a real nosedive and I was struggling to make cuts,when Golf is your only source of income not being around for the business end of a tournament is a sure shot way of losing money. At that point I decided to give up the game as I had invested everything and my savings were down to naught, but my family persuaded me to continue. My brother lent me his earnings, my mother mortgaged her jewelry and my wife encouraged me to give golf another crack. In some ways playing under such circumstances was even more stressful as my near and dear ones probably had more faith in my abilities than I did, but I am thankful that they believed in me and I was able to validate their trust.The tough times might be far removed, but the memories still linger. There is a certain bitterness that has been festering within him Indian Golf is growing and the prize purses have gone up but, for individual players (especially those from the weaker sections of society) the sponsors are still not forthcoming, and given the onerous nature of the expenses involved in Professional Golf many players are barely getting by. I have been lucky that the AVT Group has sponsored my travel and expenses but, even though I am the top ranked player in the country inquiries from potential Sponsors have been non-existent.A family affairShankar has his younger brother Manik caddy for him on tour and elder brother Appu as his swing and mental coach. Having his family travel with him is a comforting factor for Shankar I have never been to a coach in my life, my brother Appu has good knowledge of my game and both of us have developed into a formidable team, I intend to stick with this arrangement as having my brothers along with me on tour is very helpful.Wuthering heightsHaving ascended to the top of the PGTI rankings, Shankar knows that he has his work cut out if he is to continue his reign I feel the expectations of me have increased and I must deliver every time I enter a tournament, being number one is a very nice feeling but, that being said I have to be on my toes now as there are so many good players in India and each one of them is capable of shooting good scores.It has been a season of fi rsts for Shankar, thanks to his ranking he is going to make his maiden voyage to the Asian Tour This season is going to be very exciting as I will be playing on the prestigious Asian Tour,my aim will be to repeat my performance on the PGTI and have a successful campaign on the Asian Tour. If the past year is anything to go by, we can be sure that Shankar is soon going to become a household name in Asia and sponsors will eventually take notice ofhis prodigious talent and infectious smile.