FROM FAIRWAYS TO FEMININITY THE RISE OF WOMEN'S GOLF IN INDIA

Golf is a fast-emerging sport somewhere behind cricket, badminton, field hockey, football and tennis in India, a Nation of more than 1.3 billion people.

- Brig Balwinder Singh Sandhu

Its popularity is likely to change soon, thanks to players like Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjun Atwal, Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma. Anirban Lahiri being the only Indian who had full status on the PGA Tour and is presently a hot cake on the LIV Tour. Arjun Atwal till date happens to be the only Indian winner on the PGA Tour, with his victory at the 2010 Wyndham Championship.

Contrary to this if we dive deep into last three odd decades, the image of a woman golfer in India was a rare sight. Those days Indian society held a conservative and a traditional view about women, relegating the greens to the men. Now the times are changing and with them, the landscape of Indian women golf too is changing, one swing at a time. This revolution is fueled by passion, perseverance, and the unwavering spirit of a new generation of Indian women golfers who are audacious and are creating waves with their swings inspiring yet another wave of young girls to pursue golf as a sport.

The trailblazer of this change has been none other than Simi Mehra. Undeterred by societal norms, Simi carved her name in golfing history. She won numerous amateur tournaments throughout Asia before turning professional and becoming the first Indian player to graduate onto the LPGA.