From trap shooting to the fairways: Mansher Singh turns to golf development

After acing global events, Mansher Singh, one of India’s best-ever trap shooters, has turned his focus to golf. In addition to serving as the current high-performance manager of the Indian shotgun team, he will now work on the Delhi Golf Club’s (DGC) development programme for junior golfers. He was recently elected to the DGC general committee, a position that will help him “take decisions” on developing upcoming golfers.

Golfing star Gaurav Ghei, who heads the development programme, couldn’t remember any non-golfer of the stature of Singh, to be elected to the general committee in the recent past.

Singh, who has won shooting medals of all hues at the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and Asian Championships, besides other events, says he started working on the golfers’ programme after the outgoing DGC dispensation asked for his input to improve it.

“In a nutshell, the last committee had asked me to be an invitee member for its golf development programme, based upon what I do with shooting,” Singh, a DGC member for over 30 years and a 14-handicap golfer, told Patriot.

Modern approach

“They wanted golf development to take off in a more professional and more modern way. They asked me to join as an invitee. I gave them a few of my thoughts, as to how we can promote golf amongst the juniors and try and build a good, strong programme so that the juniors benefit and they can then go on and represent India,” said the 60-year-old Delhi-based shooter.

Singh says he wanted to go all in. “So, all these things worked and then I said, ‘yeah, if I am doing this, I might as well stand for the [DGC] elections, because I may be able to contribute more. That’s how I stood for the election,” he explained. He received 265 votes out of 611 and was elected to the 12-member general committee.

“That you are able to contribute more when you are inside is true not only for golf, but I think all disciplines. You have to be responsible and accountable,” he said.

Power to take decisions

Being part of the system would give Singh access to the DGC’s available resources. “Of course. Not only that, you have more power to make decisions,” he stressed.

Ghei says Singh would bring a new dimension to the project.

“Since he’s a shooter, he knows how to nurture talent, nurture juniors. It might be in shooting, but his input is very, very valuable for me. He brings an outside perspective to it, and has been a champion himself. Sometimes, you need to look at things from a different angle. He might be in a different sport, but I think the fundamentals of producing champions always remain the same,” Ghei told Patriot.

And although Singh doesn’t have a designated role at the DP World India Championship (October 15-18), he doesn’t rule himself out for next year. “If, as a committee member, I am required for any particular issue, I am there. I was busy with a shooting competition. It wasn’t working out. Maybe next year,” he said.

Singh is also the personal coach of Haryana’s 26-year-old trap shooter Neeru Dhanda, who won three medals — two gold and a silver — at the recent Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.

Also Read: Veteran golfer Gaurav Ghei hopes for Indian triumph at DP World India Championship