Shiv Shankar Prasad (SSP) Chowrasia aka Chipputtsia (Chip-putt-sia) is one of the most recognisable faces in the Indian golf circuit. It isn’t his small frame that earned him the unique nickname but his masterful short game that helped him conquer golf courses across not just India but also Asia.
Born to a greens keeper at the historic Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC), Chowrasia’s rag-to-riches story has become one of the best known fairytales of Indian golf. For someone who started as a caddie to support his family, becoming the country’s top golfer is a huge achievement. His humble beginning had no bearing on his ascent. It only kept him grounded.
“I think I have done well,” Chowrasia told The Pioneer. “I started from zero. So whatever I am today, whatever I have achieved so far, I am very happy with that. “When I started playing golf, it was really tough. I didn’t have anything. No equipment. No money. I struggled a lot at the beginning of my golf career,” he added.
Chowrasia’s family used to live inside the RCGC and he spent his childhood watching people play golf. So, it isn’t difficult to understand how he picked up the sport. “We couldn’t think about any other sport because it was the only thing that used to happen at the course,” he said.
Despite living so close to the sport, getting access to the equipment was unimaginable for young Chowrasia. But as the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way, Chowrasia decided to take up the job of a caddie at the age of 14. The job not only helped him earn some money but also gave him an opportunity to pick up the finer points of the game.
Gradually he became well versed with the technicalities of the game. His keen interest, understanding and talent earned him friendship of several RCGC members including one Neil law, who allowed Chowrasia to use his equipment to practice and after sometime gave him the golf set — his first. He was just 15 then. “It was a great help because golf sets are very expensive,” the 35-year-old golfer said. But to go out and participate in various tournaments was still a far-fetched dream. It needed a lot of money.
“Second problem was money because we had a big family so it wasn’t possible to get much help from my family. But they tried their best to give me as much support as they could. I also worked hard because I knew without hard work I could never reach where I wanted to. I saved money from my job to support my golf training. Parents also contributed a bit,” Chowrasia said.
With so many dreams in his eyes and loads of expectations, Chowrasia turned professional in 1997. His first couple of outings were a reality check for him. He didn’t do well. “When I went to play my first event, I didn’t do well. Same thing happened in the second event as well.”
Seeing him making no progress, his mother told him to stop playing golf, which was a big financial burden for the family. “One day when I went home after an event where I didn’t do well, my mother told me that if I didn’t do well in the next tournament I would have to stop playing. She said ‘we can’t help you anymore. You do whatever you want to’. After that my actual career began,” Chowrasia, a two-time Asian Tour winner, said.
His next destination was Punjab where he was to play a couple of tournaments. With so much pressure to prove himself, he missed the cut in the first event but his determination helped him sail through the next two with flying colours.
In the following years, he kept on churning good performances but it took Chowrasia four years to register his maiden win. It came at the Delhi Golf Club in 2001 where he beat Arjun Atwal. He joined Asian Tour in 2006 and earned European Tour card in 2008 after winning the Emmar-MGF Indian Masters, the first European Tour event in India.
His success on the golf course took him to the places which he had never imagined. “I remember I went to Macau first time. I was looking all around for the food. I didn’t know what to eat. There was raw meat hanging in the restaurants. But I managed to survive (laughs)! Rahil Gangjee helped me a lot. Uttam Singh Mundi, who is now tournament director, used to play then. Both of them helped me during my initial years. Initially, everything was a problem. But now its fine,” Chowrasia signed off.