In his every strike, every move and every aim he is a pro.
Shubam Jaglan plays golf with a world class finesse, (born on 16 August 2004) is an Indian amateur golfer who won the Junior World Golf Championships in 2015. Jaglan is also World Record holder, in under 9 Classic Junior Open, 2012 and is recipient of the “NDTV – Emerging Player” and “Margdarshan” awards. Jaglan has won over 109 domestic and international tournaments till date.
His journey started when an NRI named Kapur Singh started a golf academy in Shubahm Jaglan’s village. Jaglan was enrolled into the academy by his grandfather. Against the wishes of his family and despite the academy shutting down, Jaglan continued his practice on a small piece of land in his backyard. This land was cleaned by his father and converted into a green with three holes. Most of Jaglan’s formative training was self-taught from videos on YouTube. He was later spotted by Delhi Golf Foundation that gave him annual scholarship of 2 lakhs and a membership in the Delhi Golf Club, which in turn helped the father and son to relocate to Delhi to continue his training.
Student Stories interviewed him recently. So, let’s embark upon his Golf Journey
1) Introduce yourself, Shubam.
Hi!, I am Shubam Jaglan. I am a 13 years old and I play competitive golf. I hail from Panipat, Haryana. My father is a milkman and I am self taught golfer who has won over 100+ domestic and international golf championships in past few years. I am receiving my primary education in my village itself. Apart from being in the milk trading business my family is also involved with wrestling and we teach it to village kids and people who want to take it up as a profession.
2) How did you start off with golf ?
I belong to a family of wrestlers. My grandfather didn’t wanted me to continue the saga, therefore I was admitted to a golf academy just outside my village. But it lasted for only two months. I think that was enough for me to get started with as I was already smitten by it’s charm and now I only want to make my career i this very field. For me golf is not just a sport or another hobby which I will continue with for few more years and say goodbye to but this is one good thing I want to keep by my side for the rest of my life.
3) How does it feel to have made a world record at such a young age ?
When I was about 6 or 7 maybe, I shot nine under par in nine holes, which only few people in the world have done so far including one of the best golf players of today, Rory Mcilroy. That was one of the subtle but empowering moments of my life. It feels immensely powerful yet grateful to have set a world record at such a young age and I feel completely blessed to have done that. for me the road is a long one and coming from a village background surely increases the bar of difficulties for me a bit more.
4) What all sacrifices did you make to achieve what you have achieved so far ?
Well, I didn’t had to sacrifice a lot, but my parents did. They’ve been with me in my every step. When I shifted to Delhi, many people said it would be very hard to survive and continue to make my mark in this field. But I was going to get an opportunity to do what I love and get great education. What else could I ask for? It’s all about how well you utilize and sieze the opportunity and if you do that well then you don’t have to sacrifice a lot and go all out of your way to achieve what you want .
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5) Tell us about all of your amazing achievements so far.
In 2013, I had my first world championship victory and it was very simply fabulous. I caught up 3 shots in last 3 holes. That’s when I really felt I could win on the big stage. In 2015, I won one of the most prestigious junior events in the world. I followed the footsteps of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and other golf legends. This previous year I won the European Championship by 12 shots. That was something huge as I competed against one of the best talents in the world and got a chance to beat them as well.
6) What advice would you like to give to aspiring golf players ?
Shubam says, “Do what you love and you will enjoy it. Don’t force yourself if you don’t like it. If you are determined, do whatever it takes to get there. Stay motivated and don’t give up”. I am too young, to actually start giving any sort of advice as I am still in my learning phase but still I can suggest to all the aspiring players to pursue their passion and not just pursue it but live it and chase it every single day of their lives.
He is just 13 and is not so keen about Social Media yet !
