Can India learn from golf in China?

A column by Champika Sayal

April 23, 2015: Listening to an eminent speaker who was representing several golf courses in China enriched some of us in the audience earlier this week. A very knowledgeable and experienced golf course owner offered words of wisdom to those present at the Golf Expo, that was held recently in Delhi. “Trust growth with known people in India, go in with your eyes open and take your money upfront”- this was an impactful statement indeed, from a man who understood the greens.

It is worth acknowledging that in a country as vast as India, a simple fundamental may have not been well understood. It has certainly escaped knowledgeable policy makers in the past years and needed to be brought to attention.

Internationally a trend being emulated whilst building golf courses is to utilise land which cannot be used for farming. Wasteland and semi mountainous regions are appropriately utilised for construction of golf courses. With modernised machinery and high technology, methods are being simplified world over in design of golf courses. An average golf course of 7000 plus yards may need between 150 to 200 acres of land to lay out a championship course.

In India astronomical land prices have often turned off golf course developers who noticeably have had to incorporate real estate development into the transaction to try and make returns.

An impressive model that may pave the way for greater development of golf courses was the idea of leasing land from farmers and sharing annual profits with them. Several thousands of jobs have been created for the inhabitants of the surrounding villages in several golf properties in China. This has lead to greater acceptance and bettered the lives of such farmland owners.

A similar model would be worthwhile for consideration in India. It is an opportunity that could potentially catalyse the game of golf in India and carry it deeper at the grass roots level.

The current mantras struck a chord with all eyes looking towards redesigning and improvising existing golf courses to become eco-friendly. The new trends from high tech designers suggests that sewage water after being treated can be used to save millions of litres of water by being used for irrigation of golf courses.

The winning way for future generations of golfers in India-is to ensure that players get enough world class opportunities playing on suitable international standard courses.

A total number of 700 golf courses came into being between 2004 and 2008 in China, these figures stunned local administrators. It is time for India to emulate some of these experiences by finding the solutions that are fit for consumption under Indian conditions to propel golf to the next level in India.