Jeev reflects on a productive career, says self-belief is key

By Rahul Banerji

Indian golfing great Jeev Milkha Singh has had 27 years as a professional to distil his thoughts on life, the game that he loves most and how to manage the highs and lows of a career many would love to emulate.

The 48-year-old, a two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion and widely regarded as India’s most successful professional golfer has spent the last three months in reflective mode.

Fittingly, for someone who has had to overcome repeated setbacks in terms of injury and rehab, Jeev has important words of advice. And every golfer would do well to listen carefully.

“Handling lean patches is part of every professional athlete’s career,” India’s most successful golfer said in the course of a long conversation with the domestic pro tour’s media cell recently.

“Three things are very important during such phases. First, never lose the belief system,” he told the PGTI.

“Second, you got to set high standards for yourself so that you keep pushing yourself.

“Finally, you got to stay positive and work hard, work towards setting goals.

“In lean patches the body dominates the mind whereas it should be the other way round with the mind telling the body what to do. The mind is the most powerful muscle and you got to put it to use to the most at that time.

‘Healthy mind a must’

“If you’re good and healthy in your mind, everything is good for you,” said the four-time European Tour winner, who now has a tournament instituted in his name on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

In fact, Jeev has the most international titles (13) for an Indian and the highest world ranking (28) achieved by an Indian.

He also has notched up four or more victories on three major international tours – the European Tour, the Japan Golf Tour and the Asian Tour.

Jeev, a professional golfer since 1993, however picks two wins as being the most special of the lot.

“Winning the Scottish Open in 2012 has to be right up there because Scotland is known as the home of golf and winning the National Open there is the stuff that one dreams of.

“The Volvo Masters title in Valderrama in 2006, the year-end Tour Championship of the European Tour, was no less of an achievement.

“It’s very difficult for me to pick among these two because both are among the most prestigious tournaments in the golfing world. Both memories are very special for me and will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Family support

Jeev imbibed a sense of discipline early on in his life from his father Milkha Singh, the legendary sprinter, and credited his parents of being supportive of his career choices and decisions.

His mother Nirmal Kaur was also an accomplished sportsperson having represented India in volleyball and the Chandigarh lad grew up in an environment that was always inclined towards sport.

“I was good in multiple sports while at school but golf was always my passion. My parents whole-heartedly supported my decision to take up a career in golf.

“Today, I consider myself fortunate enough to make a living out of what I love doing.

“In my early years in golf I had great company as the likes of Uttam Singh Mundy, Amandeep Johl, Amritinder Singh and Harmeet Kahlon were all my contemporaries.

“We were all good friends and grew up together in Chandigarh. We competed hard against each other and as a result helped in improving each other’s game.

“All of us finally went on to play at the international level,” said Jeev, who has the distinction of having made 14 appearances at the Majors.

Jeev was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 1999 and the Padma Shri in 2007 by the Government of India.

Mental training

Jeev, also a four-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, said he realised the importance of mental training early on in his career when the concept was still quite new to the world of golf.

“Mental training was not really an integral part of the sport when I started out. But I was one of the few who worked quite hard on it back then.

“Even today I focus a lot on the mental aspect be it through yoga or meditation. The mind needs good seeds to be planted that in turn give rise to good thoughts.

“In the current scenario where we face a lot of uncertainty due to the prevailing pandemic and its consequences such as lockdown, quarantine and social distancing, good mental health assumes even greater importance.

“Just dedicating half an hour to yoga and meditation each day can make a big difference in our lives in these times,” said the trailblazer, who now has his sights set on the Seniors Tour after he turns 50 in a couple of years.

Also read: Professional golf is a tough and unforgiving world, says Jeev