And therein lies the fundamental difference. The journey of the original modern triad of Indian golf?Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal?was marked by sheer talent overcoming a lack of opportunity. These men learnt and honed their craft relying largely on their own counsel: a young Randhawa hit thousands of golf balls in small army golf clubs in Babina cantonment and later at the Meerut Golf Club; Atwal developed his ?natural? action at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club; and Singh, well, started off on the wrong foot, literally inventing his own unorthodox take on the golf swing?a process, which kept him in the woods for years, as he distilled his swing into a repeatable action, which, eventually, held good under pressure and brought him success on the world stage. You can?t take anything away from these gentlemen?they?ve come through not because their journey was aided and abetted by the system. They have achieved success despite the system?against significant odds?and that makes their accomplishments even more astonishing.

I first travelled to Kapurthala to meet Gaganjeet Bhullar in the summer of 2009. The then 21-year-old had just won the British Open Asia Qualifiers to become the youngest Indian to qualify for the ?true test of golf?. Instead of coming back and celebrating, like most of his peers would have done, Bhullar had chosen to retreat into his cocoon in the Railway Coach Factory (RCF) in the hinterland of Punjab. ?It?s a bit quaint to be sure. But being born and brought up here is the single-biggest factor responsible for me taking to golf and being good at it,? he says, referring to the facility at Kapurthala. RCF has a decent course and all of it is Bhullar?s practice milieu. ? I can go and practise from any hole, try any kind of shot I want to from any location, go to every green and chip and putt? for me, it?s the best place to practise and play in the country!? he adds, admitting that he?d love to party more, but plans to do that ?in good time?. It helped that Bhullar?s father was an accomplished athlete and his mother a hockey player of some calibre. The youngster went through the paces on the junior circuit honing his skills, as he graduated to the amateur ranks, where he topped the order of merit in his very first year as a 16-year-old. The highlight of his amateur career was the Asian Games in 2006, where he, along with Anirban Lahiri and JJ Chakola, won the silver medal. Along the way, coaches Jesse Grewal and Donato Di Ponziano chipped in, helping him refine his swing, although today, he keeps his own counsel when it comes to his golf swing.

His professional exploits are well-known?Bhullar?s hot streak came during a six-week period in 2012 when he won the Yeangder Tournament Players? Championship in Taipei and Venetian Macau Open, and finished runner-up at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters in Malaysia on the Asian Tour. This year, he was surprised at not doing well at the Hero Indian Open. ?My game is right up there and I really expected to do well, so it?s a bit of a disappointment not to take advantage of it here,? he said after missing the cut, adding,? I wouldn?t be surprised if I won before the year was through.? That confidence was anything but misplaced as he came through to win the Indonesia Open earlier this month?his fifth victory on the Asian Tour, which propelled him to fourth on the order of merit, and one ahead of countryman Lahiri.

Rashid Khan?s story is starkly different from Bhullar?s. Possibly, the more gifted of the two when it comes to natural ability to hit the golf ball, Khan?s best ranking as an amateur?11th in the world in March 2010?is the highest ever by an Indian and unlikely to be bettered in the near future. Khan?s rise to the top echelons of the game in India is as much a testament to the lad?s single-mindedness to excel at the game as it is to the success of Delhi Golf Club?s junior training programme. Introduced to the game by his uncle Maqbool Khan, a playing pro who had limited success on tour, Khan dropped out of school at the age of eight years to devote all his energies into the game. ?He had excellent hand-eye coordination and was hitting the ball well in no time. I spoke with the captain of the Delhi Golf Club and he recommended that I enroll Rashid in the junior training programme at the club,? Maqbool reminisces.

Nonita Lall Qureshi, Khan?s first coach, remembers him as a boy who could already hit the ball when he joined the camp. ?Rashid had his basics in place when he came in. To be honest, those days, I didn?t think he would go on to become the golfer he is today, but he?s worked very hard and deserves all he?s achieved.?

Khan made steady progress, joined the junior ranks and quit school. His talent was noticed and, in 2005, the Golf Foundation took him under their wing, sponsoring his equipment and taking care of his travel and playing expenses. Three years later, established as the top amateur, Khan got a sports quota job with the public-sector enterprise Oil India Limited, which supported him through his amateur career.

This year, Khan completes three years as a pro and won his biggest tournament as a pro?the BILT Open. He leads the Order of Merit on the PGTI with earnings of over R41 lakh. Ask him when he hopes to make the move up to the Asian and European circuits and he?s got no answer. ?Sometimes, when I wake up, I?m not even sure about what I?m going to be doing that day, so I really can?t tell you where I hope to be five years from now.? For Khan, not being able to see the big picture was a good thing back in 2010 when all he was focused on was turning pro. That strategy seems to be working just fine.

A golfer, Meraj Shah also writes about the game