Gujarat’s capital Ahmedabad has become the new training base for World No. 69 Anirban Lahiri. The well-travelled golfer who was earlier based out of Bengaluru has been training at the most awarded golf course in the country — Kalhaar Blues & Greens — since the start of December.
The shift of base has to do with coach Vijay Divecha setting up his academy at Kalhaar Blues & Greens to train kids during winters.
“Every year, at the end of the season and before the beginning of the new year, we start learning golf from the start. Anirban has been training at Kalhaar Blues & Greens since the beginning of December. It also gives Anirban a chance to spend time with the others at our academy and learn from them besides sharing his experiences,” coach Divecha told Golf Digest India from Ahmedabad.
With Lahiri being the only Indian playing on the PGA Tour following immense success in Asia, which saw him pocket 7 Asian Tour trophies, one would wonder what specific training he requires.
“The fundamentals. Whatever everyone thinks is not important. We work on his grip, posture, alignment. 80 to 90% of the faults happen in this area. So every year we ensure these things are in place. We don’t require to make any changes in his swing because over the last 16 years we are already where we want to be. We do work on shot-making — playing different shapes, different trajectories etc.,” the guru elaborated.
The 30-year-old professional, who is the best Indian finisher in a Major till date with his tied 5th result at the 2015 PGA Championship, has been working with renowned short game instructor James Sieckmann.
“More than anything, we do a lot of short game work and putting practise. Further, we implement what Sieckmann has asked us to do – execute lots of short game shots. And the best part of this is, I make Anirban teach the other students of our academy what he has learned. Teaching others and sharing with others is an important part of our journey,” explained Divecha.
Everyone knows meditation and yoga have become important ingredients for success, especially in a precision sport like golf. Lahiri has already been honing Vipassana meditation techniques. He also practiced meditation during his stint in Ahmedabad.
“Our day starts with a group meditation. All academy students meditate. This brings a certain amount of energy into the working environment. This energy is essential for everyone to develop as human beings and also translates into developing as golfers,” Divecha said.
Now you know what makes Lahiri hole long putts even in pressure situations.
After resting for a fortnight beginning the Christmas weekend (December 23 onwards), Lahiri will train for a week before heading to Malaysia for the EurAsia Cup to be held from January 12 to 14 in Kuala Lumpur.
We wish him all the best for a stupendous 2018!
(Read more in the January issue of Golf Digest India. Download here.)