India's First National Golf Academy

22^nd September 2014 will long be remembered in the history of golf in India, because it marked the inauguration of the first National Golf Academy by the Sports Authority of India.

In India, even though we have some of the oldest courses outside of the British Isles, the growth golf has always stymied by the elitist tag that it obtained from the British Raj. 

There have been many other sports that were once considered elitist, but now have shed their elitist tag, for example, Lawn Tennis, Squash, Swimming, Badminton, Snooker to name a few. What has helped, in each of these sports is success by an athlete in an international event. With the creation of this academy under the SAI (Sports Authority of India) banner, accessibility will improve and will go a long way in reducing the elitist burden this sport is carrying.  

Through this academy, students will have access to world class training facilities, access to some of the best courses in the world, access to some of the best coaches and technology. The SAI has announced exchange programs for students and coaches to visit the Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs Colorado, one of the best courses in USA and a host site of tournaments such as the 2008 Senior Open, 2011 Womens Open. SAI is also in discussion with the Arnold Palmer Foundation as they have in principal pledged their support to the academy in all its initiatives. 

I have always felt that Golf is a sport India can compete best in, unlike hockey, tennis and football where Indian's are at a dis advantage in terms of their physique. In golf this is nullified because, there is always a second shot that needs to be hit. Going off the tee with a booming 300 yard drive may be sufficient but one can still bogey or even double bogey the hole if the second shot is not executed correctly. This is where we can nullify the american, european and south east asian brilliant long game…

I am proud as a golfer to know that finally golf is now a real option for almost every Indian from all walks of life and public funds can be directed to develop one of the ‘…Greatest games ever played…’

Arnold Palmer Design Company in India

After a gap of more than 30 years, the Arnold Palmer group has decided to re-enter the region through its Design Company. They have appointed Liam Timms as their South Asian Director that covers the territories of India, Bangladesh, Sri lanka and Nepal.

The only golf course built in South Asia by the group is the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon, Haryana. The 18-hole signature course was built in the late 1980’s however, the company felt the market was very new and did not actively pursue more projects in the region. After the economic slowdown in 2008 the golf industry faced a major setback in America with many golf course closures and reduced demand for new golf courses. This has forced many of the marquee names to look outside their home market for development projects and other initiatives.

It is with this mindset that Arnold Palmer Design Company has entered the region again. The group believes that going forward just like the success they had with China, India can follow in the same way. India is not just a potential market for golf courses but also a huge market for the many other services under the ‘umbrella’ of the Arnold Palmer Group.

In an unprecedented move to mark their commitment in the region, the Palmer Foundation, Chaired by Mr. Palmer and his daughter, has decided to support the Sports Authority of India in the First National Golf Academy in Trivandrum. This is the first of many new initiatives by the company and goes a long way to show the long-term commitment the company has for the region and the country.

It is indeed a huge privilege and responsibility to be part of this company in its foray into the market and leading its activities here. I am very excited about what this mean for the golf industry of India. But what is immensely satisfying to see is this groups commitment extends beyond just golf courses. Welcome to India….  The King of Golf…!

My visit to the Bhubaneshwar Golf Club

Bhubaneshwar is another fast growing Teir-2 city of India. Located in Orissa, this city truly is a  shining examples of well planned infrastructure and growth. This city is poised to explode, the infrastructure is truly spectacular, with most major roads in the city upgraded to a dual carriage way. Traffic is orderly and free flowing due to the more accommodating wider roads. Currently the city is adding numerous flyovers to ease the traffic further. It is not surprising to see that many companies are choosing to setup here. Already Wipro and Infosys have large campuses in the city and many more IT giants are sure to follow.

Over the years the city added sporting facilities to balance out the heavy investment into infrastructure. It is not surprising that out of this the Bhubaneswar Golf Club was born. The story of this club is fascinating. It was founded in the 80’s by enterprising and enthusiastic golfers of Bhubaneswar. The first location of the golf course was around the runway of the Bhubaneswar airport, because the land became available and hardly any flights arrived at Bhubaneswar in those days. However as the city grew it was no longer feasible to be located at a place where ‘movable obstructions’ were planes…! so the club decided to find a more permanent address.

The course has 9 greens that can be repeated from a different set of tees to provide the golfer with 18 holes. The course was designed and built by the same group of golfers at the new location away from the city. The holes have some blind tee shots and some long par 4 that make for an enjoyable round of golf overall. The grass is a local variety chosen to withstand the harsh summers. The greens are hard and severely pitch marked which make putting a very irritating affair. All in all the average golfer can have an enjoyable round and that is the broad aim of the promoters of the golf club.

Though this is not a complete 18 hole golf course it is still quite popular with the players from the city. Its location is a drawback; almost 20 km away from the city center. There are talks on to try and extend the golf course to 18 holes so that it will be on par with other urban golf facilities in the country. I thought this small 9-hole golf course is ideal for such smaller cities, as it not only takes up less space, but also can be used effectively to train and build interest in the game.

It is my hope that more tier 2 cities can follow this pattern and build more 9-hole courses. These are easy to setup with less land requirement reducing the cost of development. This can allow many more government agencies and sporting authorities to consider establishing golfing facilities as part of their sport development programs. In the future 9 hole golf courses will become the most cost effective way for the sport to develop in India.

Golfing in Jamshedpur

When people speak of the city of Jamshedpur they usually only have the Tata industry in mind. The city was founded around the Tata Steel plant and the Tatas have played a very active role in the growth and the development of the city. Jamshedpur was one of the first private cities in this respect and is one of the finest examples of corporate social responsibility in our time. Through the years the Tata Company never forgot the importance of the city and always put the good of society before the good of the organization. In fact it is this attitude that sets the Tata’s apart from other large business houses in India.

In spite of its size Jamshedpur still boasts of two well-designed golf courses, the Beldhi Club Golf Annex and the Golmuri Golf Club. The older Beldhi golf course is a nine hole facility. The Golmuri Golf Course was recently extended to 18 holes and features wide fairways. It is located on land that was part of the Tata Tin Plate Factory. However, the roughs are  treacherous and a ball in there would almost certainly be a ‘lost ball’. The course features a Bermuda variant on both fairways and greens. The greens are quite large, with only some holes severely sloped. The greens are generally on the slower side, except for tournaments where the greens stimp at nearly 10.  There are not too many hazards on this course, but it should not deceive the golfer into over confidence. The thick roughs demand accurate drives and prudent approach shots are needed to ensure a par on all holes. Perhaps the most distracting feature on this course is the High Tensions cables that run across the fairways.

The golmuri golf course and the Beldhi golf course provide valuable lungs for the fast expanding city. Sadly I believe the glory days of the Tatas involvement in the city are drawing to a close. The old well-designed streets that people imagine are only found in pockets of the city and it now resembles any crowded and bustling, fast developing city in India. The only difference is the solid foundation in terms of essential services and town planning that were put in place by the Tatas. In this respect it remains as a true testament to what can be achieved if the private and the public sector in India worked together for the greater good.

As this section of my journey draws to a close, I reflect on what I have seen. It is very clear that golf as a game is only partially developed in these two cities.  A common feature of both the golf course I visited was inactivity in the afternoons, uncharacteristic of any other urban golf course. Another is the investment in large driving ranges on these courses that eventually end up inadequately utilized by members or the community. I feel this has to change. The golf courses need to open their doors to the community to draw in new players and interested youth and organize special programs which will fully untilize the down time of the facilities.  

I feel the future of golf depends upon how effectively courses like the Golmuri and the East point golf Course encourage participation from the community to promote the game. If they began to utilize the valuable resource for promotion and growth of the game rather than narrow commercial interests, I believe this could bring about a positive change for the game in India.

The final stop on this journey is Bhubaneshwar and the newly created Bhubaneshwr Golf Club.