By Rahul Banerji
Delving a little deeper into (it was about roots, after all) an issue my previous post had taken up, we are back at the big question. Where does a late starter, a casual golfer, go for his fix?
The Indian Golf Union has a most comprehensive list of golf courses, properties and projects with 231 names/venues in its registry. Of them, 117 are on land owned by the military, the paramilitaries or police forces.
This essentially means they are off limits for the walk-in player given the heightened security in cantonments and police/paramilitary facilities. Of the remaining 114 names, about a fifth are projects in progress as addresses supplied are of head offices and the like.
This leaves about 80-89 courses at the most where you and I can pay and play. More often than not, these courses are crowded and members sometimes resent having to wait for a tee time. Then, there is the matter of ever-increasing green fees.
Membership is one way out, but that means either long wait-lists or steep joining charges.
If the establishment with its many stakeholders is truly interested in growing the sport into a broad-based pastime, they will need to find a way to make golf more accessible. At least more than it is at the moment.
Back to the blade for Tiger?
Is Tiger Woods switching back to a blade putter?
Having had a poor week on the greens at the Northern Trust championship last week, where he took 120 putts over the four days of competition, Woods used a new piece of steel at the pro-am for the Dell Technologies championship.
Woods gave up his long-favoured Scotty Cameron Newport 2 blade for an Ardmore 3 mallet earlier this year. Initially, all seemed well as he turned in a string of impressive finishes, including a second place at the PGA Championship.
At the Northern Trust, though, he seemed to have gone off the boil and on Thursday, used a TaylorMade TP Juno blade. Inevitably, it has sparked talk that his long-favoured option might replace the mallet.
Meanwhile, Anirban Lahiri needs a strong performance at TPC Boston if he is to make it to the third stage of the FedEx Cup. Lahiri lost ground on the field at the Northern Trust, slipping to 97th in the standings after finishing tied 71st in New Jersey.
He is currently 91st in the four-legged playoffs. Only the top 70 from Boston go on to the third leg next week.
Read also: Lahiri tees up FedEx playoffs bid at Northern Trust golf
We should also raised the issue of Senior Citizen who have problem with high green charges after having retired.
They should be charged not more than 50% o
The issue of casual golfers and late starters is very pertinent. To address this issue we need to examine how does this fits into township planning considering the land availability vis-a-vis other sports requirement and also the issue of water consumption. To overcome water consumption aspect it may be considered to make compulsory to use only recycled water for golf course maintenance. However, land issue is to be examined by experts.
Very true. We need more green space to breathe fresh air and enjoy a round of golf. Unfortunately the trend is to build malls and apartment. Golf course is becoming a money making business rather then a source of entertainment and pastime.