A golf nerd finds her footing on the greens

Bengaluru: How about a 40-yard gain in the average distance hit with a driver? Sounds like music to a golfer’s ears! Naturally, pulling out the longest club out of the bag for every tee shot becomes a reflex. 

To let go of this temptation of bombing a driver off the tee box and instead contemplate other ways to score is what Jasmine Shekar did well over the past week to clinch her maiden professional title.    

“I teed-off only with the 3-wood and hybrids on the final day,” began Jasmine. 

“On the second day, I got into trouble with the driver. And so I didn’t want to put myself in that position again on day three. I was desperate to win. This decision paid off and I’m happy to finally get my first win,” said the Bengaluru girl - another addition to the ever-growing list of promising golfers to emerge from the city. 

The 19-year-old, who turned pro in 2023 January and was crowned the rookie of the year, has been knocking on the door of victory with as many as four runner-up finishes so far. On Friday, Jasmine carded a measured even par 72 after rounds of 66 and 76 to clinch the 13th Leg of the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour at the Golden Greens Golf Club in Gurugram. 

For someone who began playing at 11 with no golfing background, the teen’s steady climb in a short period has made her an interesting prospect. 

“Golf happened to me by chance. My elder sister was a tennis player but she broke her ankle while competing. That made me not want to play a sport which is too agile. I stumbled upon Tiger Woods’ videos that inspired me to try my hand at golf,” recollected Jasmine. 

After taking her initial coaching lessons from Brigadier Ashok at the Army Sports Centre here, the young golfer is now under the guidance of Dushyant Purohit based out of DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram.   

Purohit observes that Jasmine’s understanding of swing patterns, what works for her or not and the ability to recover from bad holes/ rounds are the traits that have helped the youngster grow as a one of the top contenders. 

“When we began close to three years ago, her driving distance was 200 yards. Now, it has increased substantially. But the teaching has mostly been about making every other club, apart from the driver, the strength. This enables her to have options and execute without depending on one set pattern. Her understanding of such nuances is working well,” explained Purohit. 

It doesn’t seem odd, then, when Jasmine, a BBA student from Manipal University, takes a while to reply about her interests apart from practice and play, merely uttering: “Umm, I study.” 

The golf nerd, when not on Tour, is seen engrossed in adding ammunition to her game either at DLF or back home at the Karnataka Golf Association.

The latest skills, according to Purohit, are developing the ability to hit fades (ball flight curves from left to right) as Jasmine is more of a draw player (ball flight curves from right to left) or the awareness of hitting the ball (and not roll it) for putts that are 30-feet or more.  

“It has taken a lot of hard work and patience,” said the golfer of few words. “And the win was sort of a validation for the efforts we have put in,” she said before heading back to practice on a Saturday afternoon.