Kohlapur: Golfs Next Frontier

A Typical Fairway

Kohlapur is a small town on the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka, approximately 9.5 hours drive from Bangalore. This town interestingly sells the largest number of Mercedes Benz cars in the whole of India. The economy of this town is linked to sugar, with a large number of factories, and sugar cane plantations located in this region. This area has also benefitted from a majority of Mumbaikars who want to move away from the crowded city of Mumbai. Kohlapur is steeped in history as this city was the seat of the Maratha Empire. To this day the palace still exists; however, it is not as elaborate as the palace of the Mysore maharaja; but is still a very prominent site to visit.

For such a wealthy city that features many of India’s HNIs (High Net-Worth Individuals), there is only one golf course; the EPTA Kohlapur. This is an army golf course, and features Browns (not greens). The fairways too, are very rocky and feature sparse amounts of grass. It appears that water is a concern and expensive, especially to keep a large area like a golf course alive and green. 

An Image of a Brown

The most interesting feature was the ‘browns’. They are created in the same manner as greens, i.e. a 3ft deep circular hole is made, it is laid with rocks, sand and brick for proper drainage, and the top layer is plaster made out of cow dung. Finally a layer of sand is added to provide some resistance to the ball. I believe this is a fascinating concept, and can in fact encourage golf in some of the most difficult terrain in the world! It is made more appealing because, if one wants to lay grass, all it requires is to remove the layer of plaster since the structure of the Brown is sound and conducive to grass growth. It also makes golf economical as one could create a golf course cheaply with browns, and as the profitability improves, add grass to the greens, rather than incur a very large up-front cost in the beginning which takes numerous years to recover.  This can allow golf to be created in the toughest conditions in the world, as it makes it proves a fallacy that you only need green grass to play golf.

See it to believe it 40 players!

Of course, before I get ahead of myself, whether or not people will want to play on a brown is questionable, but this whole concept has got me thinking, and has fired my imagination. What is the extent people will go to play the game? Even though this golf course only has browns there was still a tournament which had more than 40 people playing, on the day I visited!!! This really gives a new meaning to the phrase ‘avid golfer’.  I am intrigued by what I saw in Kohlapur, and will try to pursue this line thought. This can be a way, although extreme, of making golf affordable. Am I wrong in thinking that this could be a potential solution… what do you think?

Military Approach to Golf

It is interesting that over 50% of all golf courses India are owned by the Indian military. These courses are generally not open to the public. However, there are some that do offer civilians the opportunity to play for a green fee. All the army courses are classified as EPTA or ‘Environmental Park and Training Area’.  The golf courses owned by the military are very old and some of them were in fact created by the British, such as the MEG golf course in Bangalore, and the Dhaula Khan Golf course in Delhi, to name a few.

Well maintained Green: MEG Bangalore

As the military operates with a tight budget, it is a challenge for them to manage a full-fledged golf course. Some of the army golf courses operate on a budget as low as USD 2000. This forces the supervisor to be creative in deciding priority areas for maintenance. The common practice is to give more focus to the greens, as seen on the picture on the left, (courtesy MEG, Madras Engineering Group, Bangalore) while the fairways usually are barely maintained with occasional mowing. I believe this may be sufficient for these courses as the total number of rounds per month is around 40.

One of the biggest advantages however that the military has over other golf courses is its access to labor. The military can assign a large numbers of individuals at a time to ensure proper maintenance of the golf course. The area of concern is the direction that they are receiving. This is because it depends heavily on the interest displayed by the golf secretary. Another issue is the lack of continuity in appointments and policies which will hurt the golf course in the long run and prevent it from attaining its full potential.

In this situation credit has to be given to those who work to maintain the army golf courses. Despite the lack of funds, proper machinery, and at times a lack of man power, these few interested hawaldars of the Indian army are able to ensure good maintenance of the greens, and keep them alive. I say ‘hats off’ to them, and I will help in whatever little way I can.

Some de-weeding being conducted: MEG Bangalore

Belgaum's Best Kept Secret

Who would have thought that in the small and dusty, army town of Belgaum, one would find a golfing paradise?! 170 acres of a golfer’s dream, green fairways, and brilliant white sand. It truly is a spectacular sight.

This is the Belgaum Golf Association, (BGA) created by a few enterprising golf addicts from the surrounding area of Kolhapur and Belgaum. This course was created 10 years ago, offers membership, and has a fully functioning clubhouse and driving range, along with guest bungalows for those who wish to spend a weekend at the golf course.  The golf course itself is very well laid out, and features wide forgiving fairways, with quick greens that demand prudent putting from the golfer.  The grass on the greens is a Bermuda variant found commonly across golf courses in India while the grass on the fairways is a native grass. For the golfers in this region the BGA proves to be a great option, as there are only two other golf courses in the area, an EPTA course in Belgaum, and another in Kohlapur. Over the years these two courses have unfortunately fallen into disrepair and leaving the BGA as the best alternative.

This course is located approximately 10 Kms away from Belgaum, and is nearly an hour and half drive from Kohlapur. Yet every Saturday and Sunday this course is bustling with activity, as children and avid golfers alike make this paradise their home for the weekend.

Accessing Belgaum is relatively straight forward, with trains and comfortable buses that leave from both Bangalore and Pune. Or if one chooses to drive, the roads are very good between Bangalore and Belgaum (I am told one can make the trip in 5 hours time). Once here, any local taxi can take you to the golf course. If required, one can even stay in Belgaum, as the drive to and from the golf course is about half an hour each way.

So, if the time sheets get you down in Bangalore, or if one needs a little holiday away from the bore of the city and the old city golf courses, make a trip to the Belgaum Golf Association. Here, you can catch a little bit of the beautiful Karnataka country side and food, after you have worked hard at getting that birdie out there on the course. 

Arrival of a Golf Professional

Golf in India is still a very ‘new’ sport. Not many people can afford to play it and even less have access to clubs where they can play. Yet it is also one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Currently India has close to 200 golf courses, for an average golfing population (the top 3% in the country) of 30 million and growing. Therefore in the next few years a further 1000 golf courses need to be created to adequately serve this growing golfing population.  India faces a problem of too few golf courses where as other countries like the US are experiencing the opposite scenario. 

This is the arena I find myself in. Because golf is such a new sport in India, there is a dearth of golf professionals. The usual definition of a 'golf professional' extends to one who can play the game well, or who can teach the game. However, there is a broader definition which encompasses the management and promotion of the sport. This is interestingly what I have studied in the PGA Golf Management Program at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs USA. This course provides a comprehensive view of the industry, in areas like golf range management, golf car fleet management, tournament operations, swing analysis, rules, teaching, food and beverage, turf grass management. It is a four year degree from the College of Business at the university, and is affiliated to the PGA of America.

Currently, in India, when one wants to create a golf course the first step is to hire an individual; preferably a foreigner; who will provide the know-how to design the course. However, their focus is most likely from a foreign perspective and in some cases will not take into account the realities of India. Also some of these designers do not come to India, because doing business here is a challenge, and without the right people it can be a very complex system to navigate. The need is to develop professionals, who are well rounded in the knowledge of the game and also bring an Indian perspective.

Golf has been my passion since I was in high school, and I am excited and humbled by the fact that I am now part of this industry. For now I intend to understand the Indian golf industry, learn what the ground realities, the challenges faced by players and courses, and where the opportunities lie. This is a long and exciting journey in front of me, and I have a lot to learn.  I hope at the end of the day, in my own way I can make a small difference to the sport I really love.