TIGERS OF THE PANTHER GOLF COURSE

It was a funny sight. The golfer was almost prostrated on the ground – the word to describe someone standing at 45 degrees angle escapes me – the ball almost a good three feet away from him. Having played to a decent level of golf myself, the sight was truly amusing.  As expected the swing missed the ball. However, other than me who suppressed his smile out of politeness, everyone else patiently waited for the second swing which struck gold! No flight but the ball rolled onto the green. Everyone cheered & appreciated the shot in a manner typical of golfers nudging each other on. Hands quivering, a smile played on the golfers lips as he trudged along. At 78 years of age and quivering hands, flightless shots or even missed swings were all eclipsed by the spirit.

This was definitely not golf at its best but the spirit of life at its zenith – the indomitable spirit of the super veterans at the Panther Golf Course at its best. And not that he was a one off exception! The course was teeming with many other such golfers, clearly outnumbering the younger golfers. Here was an example of enjoying life at the prime of their youth – psychologically if not physically! You couldn’t get younger & healthier at heart. Regular at the course, they’d come in car pools, some too old to drive but not too old to play. The coordination of the tee off time was probably the most important task of the day. Laughter rang out incessantly right from the first tee off! Jokes, wisecracks at the shots of fellow golfers & abundant appreciation of a shot hit well filled the green environs with a festive atmosphere. Their shots consistent – straight & steady!  

And here I was, completely floored by the way this lot was living life to its hilt at the golf course.  I was the focus of their amusement today.  On leave from my posting at Leh, I was caddying for my father – another veteran golfer. They found it very amusing to see a CO (commanding officer) sahib pulling a trolley on the course.  They’d all pull their own trolleys, some had caddies of their own & an occasional odd who couldn’t walk the course had his own golf cart. Father wasn’t too keen to let me pull the trolley. It was going to be difficult going back to pulling it on his own after this pampering but between this and the happiness or pride of having his son caddy for him, I think the happiness won. After all this was all about happiness.

The nine holes were full of anecdotes on battles fought, the places served in were described intricately & fights picked up with bosses were given a special place of pride. My occasional two bits at attempts to impress them were scoffed at and paled in comparison to their experiences. And their battles still continued – maybe more now than ever. Some were fighting Parkinson’s, some Vertigo, some Alzheimer’s, some had sacrificed their knees to posts climbed, actual battles fought, injuries in sports and general rigors of military life. Many were fighting loneliness – their children fighting their own battles in far away places. But the one thing common to all of them was that they were all giving everything negative a run for its money & living life to the fullest.

I wondered if I would be able to live this life when I was old. This generation on the greens belonged to an era when the army was considered a way of life and not a profession. All, without exception, had been through atleast one war. They knew the price of life and so knew how to live it. Their careers were built by their own styles, their own rules of engagement. They didn’t know how to butter up seniors. They were not careerists. They were life-ists!  They had donned the uniform & hung it at almost the same time. Army Welfare Housing initiatives had given them an opportunity to settle close to cantonments. My generation is not so “life” oriented – we’re a serious lot – out to make a killing in the rat race of life. We would never be able to live life the way they were.

It was then that I realized that this was the Golden Age of the Panther Golf Course (or Environmental Park and Training Area). The age and creed of golfers would never be repeated again – anywhere. I was fortunate to be a witness to this era, to learn the lessons of life from them – to get an opportunity to let their indomitable spirit rub off on me. Golf would continue but not these endangered Tigers at the Panther Golf Course, Amritsar.