Of Indian Golf & Golfers

Golf is still a lifestyle sport in India with the rich and the famous taking to the lush greens on a lazy Saturday afternoon. It’s still a game for the retirees (ex-cricketers like Kapil Dev), industrialists, politicians, bankers and the bourgeoisie’s to enjoy. For any sport to gain mileage, it should be ingrained in the social fabric of the masses to a certain extent. Unfortunately, our general perception towards the game being too sophisticated to understand (birdie, under par, putt anyone?) and too lackluster to watch makes it lose out. We may never become a Golfing powerhouse like the United States, South Africa or Northern Ireland, the reasons being very banal. For starters, it requires a lot of investment – both on land and equipment. Actually, we wouldn’t even mind if Golf doesn’t become the cynosure because it is inherently not that exciting as compared to other sports (even though the patrons may not agree) but winning a major or two wouldn’t hurt.

Lack of popularity and accessibility to the common man notwithstanding , we do have our own Golf heroes. Our man Jeev (Jeev Milkha Singh), the highest ranked Indian in the world, recently won the Scottish Open. He deserves all the credit for creating a name for himself given that he carries a legacy from his athlete father who is one of India’s most revered Olympian. Having qualified for the British Open, Singh’s next aim is to win a major and he certainly shows a lot of mettle to do so. Also, Jyoti Randhawa (husband of actress Chitrangada Singh) and Arjun Atwal have been instrumental in giving India a face in the international Golf circuit with the latter becoming the first India born player to become a member of and later win a tournament on the PGA Tour. Apart from them, a number of Indian golfers (SSP Chowrasia, Chiragh Kumar) are picking up quickly both in the domestic and the international tours and things only look better if not the best for Indian Golf.

These men come from the affluent strata of the society. But every sport has it’s rags to riches stories too. The fairy tale of Ashok Kumar, the Bihar boy, who took the local Golf circuit by storm is as original and inspiring as any Hollywood movie. The caddie turned pro would sneak in and practice when there would be no one on the field and one fine day, as the Gods had scripted it for him, would become a champion in the PGTI tour. This does prove that the game needs passion, not just the money. What we need is an increased exposure of the sport across all echelons of society. Indian Golf is doing fine but for it to break into the top league, all we need is a champion, probably a major winner, who can become an icon for the youth pursuing professional Golf and probably then we can transcend the financial barrier and look at it as just another sport.

In the meanwhile, we can lay claim to our fifteen seconds of fame. Just like Football, we boast of one of the oldest Golfing culture. Our very own Royal Calcutta Golf Club, founded in 1829, is probably the oldest outside United Kingdom. In 1955, The Indian Golf Union was established which took over the reins of Indian Golf from the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. In 1964, the inaugural Indian Open which was graced by the great Australian Peter Thomson who was a triple champion here. Subsequently, the event became a part of the Asian Golf Circuit, the predecessor of the Asian Tour and with Ali Sher’s victory in 1991, Golf took a paradigm shift becoming a decent career option. The PGA of India was established in the year 1988 and in 2006 was re-christened as the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI). Since then the number of events in the tour have been increasing.

With the major real estate developers of India sponsoring Golf events in India, things can only move forward for the game. Also, with the ever expanding incomes of our middle class, these developers have now started providing Golf courses in the residential areas. Even if it’s for the sake of lifestyle, the game can lure the younger generation. We may well see some prodigious talents in the times to come. We may not hit a hole-in-one right away, but definitely have to tee off the process.