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.