Lush fairways, overlooked by a stretch of hillocks and challenging roughs, almost melt into the forests beyond. The misty mornings meet with the swoosh of the majestic drives of the clubs as the golfers tee-off in style. Walking over to the caddy to deposit the putter in the bag after making the putt, Lakhi Swain is all song: “Golf has become life for me, the fairways almost my second home.”
The top ranking golfer is, in fact, the symbol of the New Woman in Orissa, who is breaking off the shackles of conservatism to make forays into areas and sport which are still considered too elite, time consuming and boring.
Six years back, when the around 50-year-old portly framed Swain held the golf club in her hand for the first time, there were hardly a couple of her ilk. Today there are more than 15 avid women golfers, who are making a name for themselves in the amateur golf circuit and participating in tourneys in different parts of the country.
The wife of leading architect Ramesh Swain, Lakhi’s initiation into golf was more of recreation and means for keeping fit than taking to the sport. “But as I began to learn, I was sucked in by the beauty of the game,” laughs Lakhi, who was adjudged the best outstation golfer at the prestigious Steel City Ladies Golf Tournament, Jamshedpur, in 2007.
Her counterpart Rebati Pany nods in agreement. “For the around 15 women, who play regularly, golf has become a passion. We have been touring the country to take part in events and have even gone to Europe to play in Prague, Vienna, etc. The credit should however go to the Bhubaneswar Golf Club (BGC), which has brought the facilities and the game to us,” she says.
Located inside Infocity, the premier golf club of the capital city, with a nine-hole course, is surrounded by the country’s leading IT companies. Hillocks, waterbodies, narrow fairways, undulating greens, an elephant and crocodile bath and three-par blind signature hole make the 5,900-yard course a challenging one. The clubhouse sits atop a hill brimming with modern changing rooms, bar-cum-restaurant, conference hall, card and billiards rooms and a business lounge.
Though founded in 1983, BGC had to wait for 19 years till 2002 to set up the present home of its own. Today it boasts over 500 members, the who’s who of the city. “Golf is catching on with the people here as the facilities are offered at much lower costs than that in other states. We are also roping in coaches from Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai to conduct camps,” BGC golf captain P K Mohanty explains.
The BGC conducts around 12 tournaments in a season that starts in September and ends in March. “It has also promoted golf by conducting free coaching camps for beginners, be they young ones or keen adults,” Rebati says.
The golf club, however, has not been able to produce a pro in all these years as the course is yet to be a full-fledged one. “We need around 50 acres more to complete the expansion project. But our repeated request to the State Government to provide land has yielded no result,” laments BGC Secretary Dulal Pany.