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Ready to tee off
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Kochi lad Joseph Joseph Chakola has been chosen to represent India at the Sri Lankan Open, which begins on March 16.
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Joseph Joseph Chakola
WHEN 20-year-old Joseph Joseph Chakola, JJ as he is popularly known, was selected to represent India at the upcoming Sri Lankan Open, Kochi celebrated the achievement. Although JJ is often described as a Coimbatore lad, his roots are in Kochi where he was born and attended schools till he left to study at the Lawrence School, Lovedale.
His grandfather, Janji Varugis, both his grandmothers Rena Varugis and Annamma Chakola and a host of relatives, including his grand-uncle Dominic Joseph, the founder of the Casino Group of Hotels and the man who presented JJ the golf set he uses today, live here and follow his progress up the golf ladder with great interest.
Early start
JJ's enthusiasm for golf began at the tender age of five, when he used to watch his grandfather practising at the family home on Cannon Shed Road. Rena Varugis recalls JJ wanting to play with the very same clubs that his grandfather used! From then on, spurred by the passion of his father Jack Chakola, himself an enthusiastic golfer and who sent him to study in Delhi to take advantage of the over a dozen golf courses and the many tournaments held there, his progress can only be described as upward.
Says JJ about Kochi, "Kochi will always be a part of me because it was here that I discovered my love for golf."
In 1999, JJ was selected to play for India in the Asia Pacific Sub-Juniors at Myanmar. That same year he attended a coaching camp in Italy run by Alessio Cocchi, one of Europe's leading coaches. In 2001, at the age of 16, he came third in the amateur section at the KGA Open in Bangalore. In 2003, he won his first tournament, the Dunlop Open at Ooty, a feat, which he repeated the following year.
In 2004, he also won the South Indian Amateur Open at Ooty and India's oldest amateur tournament, the Eastern Indian Amateur Open at the Royal Golf Club, Kolkata.
Says JJ on his taking up the sport seriously, "the world is full of opportunities. It is just a question of finding what you're made for. I'm glad I have found it's golf."
Janji Varugis is confident that JJ's intense commitment to the game will propel him to the pinnacle of golf and Tony Joseph another of Kochi's golf aficionados says, "he's the closest anyone from here has got to this level. It is an expensive game, but I'm sure with his modesty and gentle manners, JJ will go far."
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Golf scene
ALTHOUGH KOCHI has had a golf course as far back as 1922, there are presently only two, the old one on Bolghatty Island and another in Kataribagh owned by the Indian Navy, both nine-hole courses. Kerala is the only State in the country that does not have an 18-hole course. For many here, golf is a five-mile hike punctuated by disappointments or a game thought up by God to punish guys who retire early!
Plans are afoot to set up an 18-hole course at Kalamassery, Vallarpadam or Nedumbassery. The Kalamassery site is on undulating land, while the others are flat and need considerable work to make it picturesque and interesting to play on.
THOMAS CHACKO
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