An Elitist Sport of India

This is a follow up of my earlier post ‘An Island in a Sea of Development’. After my visit to the Bombay Presidency Club, I realized that something was not right. In a city, referred to as ‘maximum city’ of India, there are only three golf courses, while Bangalore has 8 and growing! So I started to pay attention to what I saw around me in Mumbai that could explain this conundrum, even as I visited the second golf course in the area the Wellingdon Sports Club. 

The Club House of Wellingdon Sports Club

The Wellingdon Sports Club is located in South of Mumbai, close to Mahalaxmi train station, opposite the Mumbai racecourse. It is very easy to access the club; with options of train, bus, local taxis and auto rickshaws. The club unfortunately does not offer accommodation. It allows guests to play at the golf course for a green fee of USD 30 for 18 holes, while members of the Indian golf Union (IGU) receive a 50% discount. Caddy fees are a flat USD 4, and carts are available only for use by senior members.  Guests to the golf course do not automatically have access to other facilities of the sports club.

This golf course is relatively small; built over 35 acres; it is a par 65 course. It features only one par 5 for the 18, and is a ‘Compact Course’ design. The grass is a local variety and extends to the greens as well.  The course is short and the fairways are narrow. It is possible to keep the driver in the bag and have a very good round. There are even a few holes where it is possible for one to drive the green.  The course provides for a very enjoyable round of golf, which can be completed in fewer than 2 and half hours.

A view of the Practice Area of Wellingdon Sports Club

The sports club has a total membership base of 7000 and offers a variety of sports including tennis, cricket, badminton, squash, swimming and billiards. It is very interesting that only around 10% are golfers. This is in spite of the presence of a trained LPGA, and PGA (UK) coach, Kiran Kanwar, a current playing lady pro, Mita, heading the golf sub committee and a green fee of only Rs. 10 for the members if they should want to play. Still there have been few takers. It is my humble opinion that maybe golf in this club is competing with other sports, and an unfair comparison is being made, where parents would rather send their kids to play tennis and get more exercise in less time than it takes to play golf. 

Hole No. 1 of Wellingodn Sports Club

There is also another view, that golf in Mumbai is a very exclusive sport. For instance the demographic of members in both these clubs (Bombay Presidency and Wellingdon Sports Club) shows that one has to be affluent to have any form of access to golf courses. To promote the game, clubs can organize events such as nature walks, bird watching and environment talks at the course, to at least bring members to visit the facility. The club also needs to be more supportive of talent, and encourage youth from the community to join through student memberships. This could generate new interest in the game, and encourage more of the non-playing members to take up the sport. However it remains to be seen if the older members will allow newcomers to walk the hallowed grounds…