Having lived in a 10x10 shanty near the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (BPGC) at Chembur all his life, golf automatically became his first love.

Education or golf?
Mane had to choose between education and golf early in his poverty-stricken childhood and eventually chose the latter. At the age of 12, he joined as a forecaddie (one who does not carry the golfer’s bag but instead rides on the back of the golf cart or runs ahead of the cart on every hole) to earn some money.