Tee off for a good cause

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” chuckles golfer Amit Luthra, who reveals that chartered accountancy happened to him by chance. “After I won a gold in 1982, I received a cash prize and a flat from the Delhi government. As the rules go, one can’t make money as an amateur golfer, so I decided to forfeit my amateur status for two years, and applied for a reinstatement later,” recalls Amit.

It was during these two years that the 57-year-old decided to plunge into his studies headlong, becoming a CA. “I was very focused,” he smiles, when asked about the rather short time he took to finish his education.

However, after suffering from a slipped disc in the ’90s, he couldn't take up the game professionally and decided to give back to society. The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar recipient decided to aid players who couldn’t afford the fame, and founded the Golf Foundation, helping underprivileged children pursue a career in golf.

So far, Amit recollects, his foundation has mentored 150 to 200 children. One of them was Shubham Jaglan, the son of a humble milkman, who won the Junior World Golf Championship in 2015, says Amit, fondly.

Besides the sporting world, which has stood with the foundation from the beginning, Amit has garnered support from the Bollywood fraternity too — Akshay Kumar, Abhishek Bachchan and Aamir Khan, the bigwigs of Hindi cinema have taken keen interest in his foundation. Safe to say, Amit hobnobs with stars both on and off the field.

“Kapil Dev is an excellent golfer, and he’s on my board as well. I enjoy playing with him,” laughs Amit, as he reveals that Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh too support his cause.

Quiz him on the movie stars’ and their golf, and he says that while he hasn’t played with anyone so far, R. Madhavan and Suresh Oberoi are keen golfers. “Even Telugu actress Rakul Preet Singh, is a national level golfer,” he nods. But if there’s one actor he would like to train personally, it would be Aamir Khan. Why? “Because he’s quite the perfectionist,” he shrugs.

Being a sporting personality comes with its perks, and most love the different places their work takes them to, but for Amit, it’s only a chance to play golf in myriad destinations on earth. Having represented India across six continents, Amit chuckles that he ended up on the seventh — Antarctica — just to play the game there, and get a hang of it.

Be it South America or Europe, it’s a must for him to try out golf courses there. “The US, however, has the maximum variety of courses. They’re all very challenging and well-maintained,” Amit says.

One would clearly think that golf is the only sport on his mind. However, Amit reveals that if he isn’t putting the golf ball or auditing accounts, he runs marathons. “I love indulging in physical activities. I’ve been running marathons for eight years now,” he says, adding that he takes keen interest in cycling, swimming, and hiking too.