KARACHI: When Amandeep Johl first visited Pakistan, George Bush Senior was US President while South Africa was just beginning to think about the idea of dismantling apartheid.
That was back in 1989 when Johl was a young amateur golfer from India, who made several friends in Pakistan during his maiden visit to this country. He also fell in love with the prestigious Karachi Golf Club and somehow returns frequently to play on its ever-improving course.
Today, Johl is India’s national coach who believes that golf has the potential of growing into a major sport in the sub-continent.
“Frequent exchanges between India and Pakistan can be one way to lift golf in our region,” Johl told ‘The News’ in an interview here at the KGC where he volunteered to give a lesson to some of the budding junior golfers of the city on Friday.
The biggest problem with Indo-Pak exchanges would be that if held on the golf course, they could end up a bit too one-sided. That is because India has over the years emerged as a force to be reckoned with at the regional level. Pakistan, in contrast, lags far behind despite enjoying the services of talented professionals like Shabbir Iqbal and Muhammad Munir.
Johl, 48, is of the view that Pakistan can begin by getting their coaches taught by Indian experts.
“From where I see it, Pakistan will have to begin by teaching its teachers if it wants to take its golf to the next level,” says Johl, who stepped away from a lucrative career as a professional golfer to take up coaching.
“The thing is that unless you have a sufficient number of qualified coaches, you cannot lift the overall standard of golf in any country. We in India were facing a similar problem till around 15 years ago but after a lot of efforts there is now a proper system in place that helps produce qualified coaches.
“India has invested in the system and its paying off,” he said.
The Delhi-based Johl said that Pakistan golf will be better off if the country’s golfing community somehow puts a proper system in place here as well.
India, he says, can provide some kind of assistance.
“Golf officials in Pakistan can sound out the Indian Golf Union and check about the possibility of some qualified coaches coming here regularly to teach the local coaches,” he said.
Johl, who was one of India’s flag-bearers on the Asian Tour and recorded several top-10 finishes from over 300 appearances, said that he would be more than happy to come and teach Pakistani coaches in the near future.
“I have been coming here for almost three decades and it feels like home because I have so many friends in Pakistan,” said Johl, who is hosted in Karachi by his old friend Sohail K. Rana, an eminent golfer of the city who was also an ex-captain of the KGC.
He is a great fan of legendary Pakistan golfer Taimur Hassan.
“When I was young Taimur Hassan was like an idol to me. Nobody could hit long irons like him. I wished I could hit a 3-iron like him.”
Having played with several Pakistani golfers, Johl believes that when it comes to skills and talent, Pakistan doesn’t lag behind India or any other country. “Pakistan hasn’t capitalised on that talent, at least not yet” he said.