The 2004-05 tournament calendar in India featured 21 events for professionals, 12 for amateurs (the serious players who do not want to turn professional golfers), eight for women and 10 for juniors. Besides, there are at least 70 corporate events that make for a rich schedule of competitive events. In the coming season, the number of tournaments will go up.
A number of new courses have sprung up in recent years, opening new doors for young players and corporate golfers as well. Real-estate developers have taken a leaf out of the Far East book to realise that golf courses can escalate the prices of their properties. A number of projects took off a decade-and-a-half ago but only some saw the light of the day. DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon has shown the way in making profits with its aggressive marketing. The value of property around the course has escalated many times over.
There are builders who have stolen a march over their competitors by positioning themselves as serious promoters of golf and not just their residential properties. Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida, for instance, has thrown open its course to active players on the PGAI Tour. Its general manager S.S. Rathore is pleased that as many as 200 golfers teed off on Independence Day. "I reckon the optimum number of players on a day for a course like ours would be 220," he says.
Golf will get a major push in India when public access to 100 army golf courses across the country increases even by just a bit. Of course, there are a number of issues that have restricted public access to these courses, not the least of which is a security concern. It will also get a leg up if more public courses come up across the country. Right now, of the 180 courses in India, there is only one course—the DDA course at Lado Sarai, Delhi—which can be truly called public. "We need more public courses for sure," says Aparajit.
Until that happens, India will see more and more golf facilities being developed by real-estate companies. "For courses to be economically viable, it is inescapable that patronage levels have to be very high and for that to happen, golf facilities must be within 30 minutes of home or office," says Tiger Sports marketing director Digraj Singh. "The real remuneration for such developers will be from the escalation of value of real estate in and around the courses."
There are a number of real-estate developers in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Greater Noida and Gurgaon who have gone a step further and built villas and apartments inside their signature golf courses. The cost of such a villa, located within hailing distance from a fairway, can be as high as Rs 6 crore.
Golden Greens in Gurgaon has shown the way forward. General manager Nisha Nayyar reveals that it has recently had a merger with an Indonesian resorts chain. It is only a matter of time before Golden Greens, arguably one of the best courses around Delhi, will look at developing luxurious residential properties inside.
