From Jeev to Shubhankar, golfers return to practice with COVID guidelines in mind

Keeping the government guidelines in mind and their clubs in hand, India's top golfers returned to practice at courses across the country after weeks of inactivity brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The golfers were were without their caddies, though.

At the Delhi Golf Club, Shiv Kapur was seen playing with old friend, Gaurav Ghei.

Kapur and Ghei have both won at the DGC, have been friends for more than 20 years and have practically learnt all their golf at the famed course, situated at the heart of the national capital.

Both were masked up. There was no backslapping, no handshakes, just an 'Air Fives' to acknowledge each other's good shot. No usual snacks and coffee or lime juice. Just a goodbye after they were done.

One of India's most recognisable sportsmen, the 90-year-old Milkha Singh, is yet to hit the course, but his son, Jeev Milkha, was there at the Chandigarh Golf Club with his friends.

His age kept the senior Milkha away from the course, but the younger one was out there with Uttam Singh Mundy, former pro and now CEO of PGTI, Gurbaaz Mann, a former pro and now a coach and Ajeetesh Sandhu, a regular on Asian and PGTI Tours.

Maintaining social distance and wearing an assortment of masks (Mundy had the most fashionable one), they all enjoyed rounds of golf.

Amritinder Singh, a former Asian Tour pro and now a swing coach for Jeev, accompanied all of them.

Jeev said, "To be honest, it was most relaxing to be out and playing golf after such a long time. More than two months since I hit a ball. So a bit of rust, but nobody will mind that. We were just happy to be on a golf course."
"There were no stunning shots. But everybody was really excited to be on the course after two months. A lot of funny shots were hit on the course but we were all grateful to be playing after a long time."
"It is the only thing I have done and it's the thing I know best and it has been my livelihood for three decades. So it's great to be back playing golf, even with rules that we never even thought of."