Blogging Matters!!! : The 2nd India Golf Forum Report

Day 7.

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the extremely objective India Golf Forum Report. I'm sure other people will write a subjective report, but that's not what you'll get here. I'll provide you the session by session recap of the Forum and let you know of the quality.

I look at the golf matches out-and-out from an "Entertainment" point of view. I'm not a golfer and will never claim to know the In's and out's of what makes a great game from a technical angle. But, I do know what galvanizes me in a contest, so let's break it down.

Introduction :- Key remarks -

1.) Mr. Thomas Abraham (Director, Sportzpower) -

• Golf is currently the fastest growing sport in India, both in terms of money and mass participation.
• Golf has been introduced in Olympics (2016).

2.) Mr. H.S. Kingra (Secretary General, DGS) -

• This is an effort to bring players, coaches and young audience in one place.
• Every major game now, has knowledge capture area.

3.) Mr. Prakash Bhandari (President,DGS) -

• Basic trust of everybody involved with Golf is to develop excellence.
• Can't see any visible effect at Government level.

4.)Mr. Desh Deepak Verma (IAS, DG - SAI) -

• During this year, 12 teams have gone abroad, sponsored by Government, SAI.
• Don't look at results in Golf, just make efforts.

Session I :- The playing field : access to infrastructure - (Moderator - Mr. HS Kingra)

1.) Mr. Rajiv Talwar - 

• No denying that there is lack of public sport infrastructure.
• Golf facilities are indeed available to juniors in India, which is not in any country.
• Colleges/Universities don;t have Golf programmes at all.

2.) Mr. Madhukar Chaturvedi -

• We are in process of developing a National Golf Academy in Jaipur.
• Have to work out on PPP (Public Private Partnership).

3.) Mrs. Jhanjha Tripathi (Secretary, Railway Sports Board) -

• Government is very apprehensive about corporates owning part of the land.
• Merge Golf with Tourism i.e. create Golf Tourism.

4.) Mr. Rakesh Purohit -

• In December 2010, got recognition for Pitch and Putt which is a nursery for Golf recognised by R&A.
• In 2014, plan is to put India on the International map.
• Want to arrange funds for development of academies.

5.) Brig. Virender Kumar -

• Golf illuminates a common man.
• Today, Indian Golf Course is known for its easy accessibility.
• We have junior development programme that grants 3 days a week to juniors.
• We allow 8-10 caddies to play Golf.

Session II :- Where have all the coaches gone? - (Moderator : Mr. Digraj Singh) - Key remarks -  

1.) Mr. Digraj Singh -

• At Arjuna Awards, some questions emerged like : (1) What kind of teachings did Guru Dronacharya did? (2) What difference did he make to his students? (3) Are we creating an environment to find the best teachers to teach our kids?

2.) Mr. Romit Bose -

• Students who were taught , today want to give back to the game. But they can only come as C-class or D-class professionals.
• Allot some amount of funding to junior golf, men's golf and women's golf and give subsidies to the students. This is an effort of DDA.
• To deliver my best, I need money.

3.) Vandana Agarwal (Professional Women Golf Player) -

• Every club should look coaching, as a Value-Added Service.
• Even in certification which is happening among coaches, there is a need for Reality Check.
• Event Management, is for what, coaches have left.

4.) Htwe Hla Han (Director of Development, Asian Tour) -  

• Under Asian Tour a team is given to juniors.
• Coaches are very vital and facilities at Pitch and Putt are very good.

5.) Mr. Rishi Narain -

• In US, everything is controlled by 'Club-Pro' who runs tee-time sheets, manages events,etc.
• In India NGAI (National Golf Academy of India) is trying to certify coaching.

Session III :- Golf Tourism and Corporate Golf - (Moderator :Mr. Rishi Narain) Key Remarks -

1.) Ms. Htwe Hla Han -

• When Asian Tour goes on, we ensure its International standards.
• Challenges in India : a.) Hotel Arrangement and b.) Few Golf Courses.

2.) Mr. Digraj Singh -

• We're working up to the reality, that India is a key destination, But, still lot of work needs to be done.
• The starting point, perhaps needs to be Domestic Tourism.

3.) Mr. HS Kingra -

• Today, its a time of coalition of different sectors.
• People need to understand the Indian situation in tourism. Himachal Pradesh doesn't have quality golf courses and so many International Delegates over there.

4.) Mr. Rishi Narain -

• Need to have a cluster of Golf Courses in India which have been developed in Singapore, Mauritius, Turkey, etc.
• Its been proven that, golf players stick to a cluster and don't wander from place to place.

Session IV :- Broadcast concerns - (Moderator : Mr. Gaurav Kalra) Key Remarks -

1.) Mr. Gaurav Bahal -

• Cricket, a cheaper sport to cover, golf, however is expensive.
• Need ROI to give to stakeholders.

2.) Ms. Htwe Hla Han -

• Depending on the sponsorship, Asian Tour functions.
• With Asian Tour live coverage, its made sure that exposure is to all the countries in the world.

3.) Ms. Shaili Chopra - 

• Golf is not yet, the most "fashionable sport" in India.
• Tee-Time is trying to get fashionable identity to Golf.
• Need to create a buzz around Golf like F1 got Airtel as sponsors, who paid them huge money. So, a buzz has been created over there.
• Need to have a fan-base. Today, corporates back cricket as they see the big buck.

4.) Mr. Gaurav Kalra-

• More sports channels are here than 10 years ago.
• Are these broadcasters just rushing for money than heartily pushing Golf?

Session V :- Getting India into the Olympics - (Moderator: V. Krishnaswamy) Key Remarks -

1.) Mr. V. Krishnaswamy -

• The IGF (International Golf Federation), in 2009 estimated 16 million Golfers.
• India has hardly 200,000 -300,000 golfers.
• There is still lack of clarity, as to who will play for India in the Olympics.

2.) Mr. Padamjit Sandhu -

• Very encouraging to see, where Professional Golf has gone in India in the last 5 years.
• There are going to be 5 international events to be played in India. 4 have already been played and India has won 3 out of 4.
• As of Sept. 5, 2011 there will be 60 players chosen by their world rankings. In top 15, only 4 players from 1 country and from 16 to 60, only 2 players from each country would participate.

3.) Mr. Romit Bose -

• India has some huge players and 17 best players like - Himmat Rai.
• Our plan should be to look beyond Olympics. So, India should have that kind of depth.
• There has to be partnership arrangement. Indian players need to go out and play European even or US event.

4.) Mr. Karan Bindra -

• We are lacking in taking these golfers to the next level.
• Development on big stage, is about their development as athletes.

5.) Mr. Romit Bose -

• Every action you do in Golf, is related to Skill.
• We need a minimum of 40 events on junior level and 40 vents on the senior level.

So, my Readerland that was for you a recap of the events that took place at the 2nd India Golf Forum,2011. Personally, I feel that this Forum had a lot of positives and was a tremendous event.

When you have people from Golf, Government and Media together having conversations, then you've witnessed something great. This has been a great year for India Golf Forum and I applaud them and hope to witness this phenomena again in the near future.

Thanks for reading.