City women chart out a new course

“All you need is the infrastructure and talent will automatically make its way. We need to expand our horizons and get over the social stereotypes," says Smriti Mehra (40), a city golfer and one of the founding members of Women's Golf Association of India.

“All you need is the infrastructure and talent will automatically make its way. We need to expand our horizons and get over the social stereotypes," says Smriti Mehra (40), a city golfer and one of the founding members of Women's Golf Association of India.

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Till now considered a snobbish sport reserved for the privileged few men, golf is finding takers among city women —thanks to good infrastructure and changing notions towards the sport.

Gurgaon, which has eight golf courses, has begun to see more and more women taking up the sport as a career option.

“I turned professional in 2007. Till then, I didn't know that this was going to be my career. I was introduced to the sport by my younger brother,” said Nalini Siwach (23), a mathematics graduate.

Then there's 18-year-old Vani Kapoor, who turned professional this year. Kapoor believes the middle-class has warmed-up to the sport, which is largely considered a male-domain. “It is definitely an unconventional and poorly-supported career option, but it has potential. A profession is not always about learning from books,” said Kapoor, a first-year college student.

These professionals believe that if stereotypes are done away with and the space is used resourcefully, the sport will no more be restricted to rich kids.

“We just need to broaden our horizons and give sports its deserving place,” added Mehra, a resident of Nirvana Country.