For the Nawab of Lucknow, the darbar (court) was held after he finished his round. It was either at the caddyshack, or the nearby chai tapri (tea stall). There was a good reason for that, one that defined Vijay Kumar as a person.
Vijay would be there, one of his legs tucked under another, a glass of piping hot tea in his hand, and lording over his audience with easy elegance. He would smile throughout, talk sparingly, and listen to everyone around.
The story goes: towards the middle of the 1990s, a popular golf club in the country “allowed” some of the top “caddy-turned-professional” players to enter the clubhouse. But there was a caveat. The club also posted the names of these “top caddie players” who were permitted. Of course, all the “gentleman pros” did not face any restrictions.
Vijay Kumar saw this, and then, in his usual understated way in which he did everything, he thanked the members and told them that until every “caddy-turned-professional” was permitted the use of the clubhouse, he’d rather have his tea and chew his guthka (tobacco) in the comfort of the caddyshack.
So, who really was Vijay Kumar, a doyen of Indian golf who passed away following a cardiac arrest at home on Tuesday at the age of 57?
Golfers who grew up in India around the turn of the century, have immense respect for the man. In his prime, Vijay won nearly a hundred titles on the domestic tour (no proper records exist before 1997), and four Order of Merit titles between 1996 and 2002. The crowning moment of his career was the stunning win at the 2002 Indian Open, making him one of a handful of players with international wins.
Vijay was born in a small village called Martinpurwa, sandwiched between Lucknow’s most respected educational institute La Martinere, and Lucknow Golf Club. It supplied all the caddies and forecaddies to the club. Vijay too started as a caddy, shadow-practiced and played in the village with a club made of a branch. He became so good at the sport that the whole village started playing golf.
I was the media manager for the Indian PGA Tour in 1999 and travelled to Lucknow for a tournament. Vijay Bhaiyya (brother), as everyone called him, invited me for dinner. This gave me an inside look at Martinpurwa, an almost fantastical world where every young boy played golf on the streets with tattered balls or those made at home, and handmade clubs that looked like they were from another era.
Tiger Woods was already as famous as Michael Jackson across the globe. But every kid I asked that day who their golf hero was, gave me the same answer – Vijay Kumar.
“It is still like that,” said Shiraz Kalra, one of India’s top amateur golfers from Lucknow. “Vijay was just so generous with his time, patience and money. I am sure he must have had a role in making each of those kids playing golf.
“I kept a Callaway 1-iron until very late in my career. I started using it only because Vijay would use it. When I would travel to play professional events, he would always look after me and play practice rounds and share insights about the golf course with me.”
The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) is planning to honour Vijay Kumar by naming a tournament after him and hosting it at Lucknow Golf Club. It could be as early as June this year when the Tour goes to Lucknow for a NexGen (feeder) Tour event.
“I don’t think I knew any player from Lucknow before Vijay,” said Amandeep Johl, PGTI Commissioner, who had his fair share of battles with Vijay. “He, and Mukesh Kumar (from Mhow), were among the first from smaller towns to make their mark in Indian golf.
“The thing that impressed me most about Vijay was how he never lost his cool on the golf course. It’s an amazing quality to have as a golfer. You could not tell it from the expression on his face, or with that laidback walk of his, if the man was coming to submit his card after shooting a 74, or a 64.”
Like many players from his generation, Vijay was never coached. There was a bit of Fred Couples’ laziness in his swing, and his short game was elite.
“You look at these (self-taught) players of the time, and they will be excellent in one aspect of the game, but there would be another in which they’d be slightly weaker. Not Vijay though. He drove the ball really well, hit some mean iron shots and had an excellent short game,” reminisces Brandon de Souza, who played with Vijay during the late 1980s.
“The reason he had that Couples kind of swing was that he started hitting balls with clubs he’d make himself from tree branches. You need to have a great rhythm and tempo when you are hitting with those handmade clubs with no stiffness. Vijay’s swing was all rhythm.”
Vijay Kumar is survived by his wife and three sons.
