As the golf range at Tollygunge Club awakens, the sun casts pale golden rays on the turfed bays, illuminating small pyramids of dimpled golf balls that glisten with early morning dew. The Protouch Golf Academy, under the mentorship of founder and director Indrajit Bhalotia, has been instrumental in nurturing some of the country’s top golfers. While infrastructure and equipment play an undeniable role in an athlete’s development, it is their coaches who drive them forward, guiding and supporting them past roadblocks.
Protouch has recently welcomed two new coaches — Sreenjoy Majumder, 24, and Fizza Ali, 19. My Kolkata caught up with these young mentors at Tollygunge Club, where they discussed their experiences, inspirations, game plans and all things golf.
‘My training as a coach has given me a deeper sense of trust and control over my game’
Stepping into the role of a professional coach has added a new dimension to Fizza’s golf
Fizza’s soft and quiet demeanour belies her powerful golf game. As a junior, she starred in several national as well as international tournaments, with her distance off the tee being one of her primary strengths. Fizza attained her coaching certification from the National Golf Academy of India (NGAI), supported by the Indian Golf Union (IGU). This May, she joined Protouch to give back to a game that has shaped her life in multiple ways. Her dream of playing professional golf, however, stays alive, and she hopes to return to the tour in the near future.
“My career as a professional coach has improved the game of not just my students, but, to my surprise, mine as well! I have picked up so much from my mentors, and have learnt to apply all of my knowledge to my own game. My training as a coach has also given me a deeper sense of trust and control over my game, and has helped me improve in leaps and bounds,” shares Fizza.
‘Even as a teacher, you’re still a student of the game’
Sreenjoy believes that the game will soon take to new heights in Kolkata and appeal to even more youngsters
An NGAI certification, a Swing Catalyst Certification and the CAPTO putting course are but some of the numerous feathers festooning Sreenjoy Majumder’s golf cap. Sreenjoy, who became a part of Protouch last October, is no stranger to competitive golf, having played as well as won on the national and the junior national circuit before shifting to coaching. “I was playing competitive golf till 2022, but I soon realised that in order to sustain yourself on the professional level, a score of one or two-over par is not even close to being enough. The scoring average across the men’s and women’s tours in India has come down dramatically,” explains Sreenjoy, taking an honest stock of his own abilities.
“I always dreamt of making a big name for myself in the game. When I realised I may not be able to achieve this as a player, I thought — why not make my mark teaching the game instead?” And sure enough, Sreenjoy seems to have found his true calling in imparting to others the practical and theoretical knowledge he has collected over the years. Calm and confident, Sreenjoy believes that “even as a teacher, you’re still a student of the game”. “It fills me with joy and excitement to be able to learn more about the game every single day — a new grip, a new angle, a new technicality. And the more I learn, the more I can help my students, which is always the ultimate goal,” he adds.
‘AI benefits the coach more than the player’
Today’s times are defined, across fields and careers, by the computer-generated elephant in the room — Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Protouch Golf Academy boasts top-notch technology such as the Sportsbox AI and the CAPTO putting analysis. As coaches, Fizza and Sreenjoy find themselves working in collaboration with AI on a daily basis. “AI hasn’t and won’t take over the sport anytime soon. AI is a tool which aids in coaching — it shows you what the naked eye cannot see, such as the angles and degrees of pivots and launch factors,” says Sreenjoy. “AI is an information provider, and it’s still up to the coach as a biomechanics expert to give the player the right technical aspects to work on.”
Fizza agrees: “During a biomechanics session, there’s a huge volume of facts and figures that the system generates. This information can overwhelm the player, and it is the coach’s responsibility to filter and give the right amount of data to the right student. So, AI benefits the coach more than the player.”
A typical day in the life of a golf coach at Protouch is action-packed. Sreenjoy often finds himself having an early start where he works on his own game and hones his swing to perfection. Fizza is eager to meet her younger students as she believes there is a lot to learn from children. What follows is a day spent rubbing shoulders with some of the best minds in the industry, mutually going over coaching strategies and gameplans for the students. “It is a never-ending and ever-changing job, and I learn something new about the game every single day,” smiles Sreenjoy.
Ultimately, both Fizza and Sreenjoy feel that their aim is not solely to nurture future silverware-clinching champions, but also to spread a love of the game to corners far and wide through trust and perseverance.
