Gurugram, 02-06-2021

Manu Gandas, man of few words, lets his clubs do the talking

Twenty-five-year-old Manu Gandas, who turned professional in 2015, has so far enjoyed his best season on the PGTI in 2020-21. In his 10 appearances in the current season, Manu, who hails from the DLF Golf & Country Club, Gurugram, has clinched five top-10s and as a result occupies eighth place on the PGTI Order of Merit.

Gandas, one of India’s leading amateurs prior to turning professional, attributes his recent successful run to his much-improved iron-play, a changed mindset and full recovery from past injuries.

Manu, usually a man of few words, said, “My short-game has always been my strength and my iron-play one of my weaknesses. So I put in a lot of work into my iron-play and this season my iron shots have been one of the highlights of my game.

“I also realized that I was playing quite conservatively in previous seasons which wasn’t getting me the results I expected. Therefore, I decided to change my approach by playing a little more aggressively which has yielded good results for me this season.

“The other factor that has contributed to my good performances recently is the fact that I have been injury-free after a long time. Injuries in my wrist and ankle hampered my game for the last two years. But now I’ve fully recovered from these injuries which has in turn raised my performance level.”

Gandas, still searching for his maiden professional title, secured a career-best runner-up finish at the Glade One Masters held in Ahmedabad earlier this year.

“I feel the extra bit that I need to do in order to win is to stay in the present and strike a good balance between caution and aggression,” said Manu, who represented India at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Gandas comes from a sporting family as his father Badan Singh is a well-known swimming coach and yoga instructor based in Gurugram. Manu’s elder sisters have been national level judokas. Manu himself participated in judo and swimming competitions when he was much younger before he set his heart on becoming a golfer.

Gandas is also artistically inclined as sketching is one interest that he has been pursuing since childhood.

He said, “Sketching is something I enjoy a lot as it helps me express myself and also unwind at the same time.”

Gandas took to golf coaching late last year which he feels has helped him grow as a player.

“Coaching is a new experience but it has given me the chance to see the game from a different perspective and helped me analyze my game better,” added the mild-mannered Manu, who now aims to focus on target practice for better scoring, once his home course reopens after the lockdown.