By Rahul Banerji
A two-day summit of the Golf Industry Association began on Thursday at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon with a number of industry professionals, course owners and developers, and policymakers in attendance.
Women;s Golf Association of India president Kavita Singh inaugurated the event while GIA president Anil Seolaker gave the welcome address, making the point that the association had widened the scope to include a turf section for the first time.
Indian Golf Union president Brijinder Singh congratulated Aditi Ashok on her silver medal at the ongoing Hangzhou Asian Games and spoke on the IGU’s vision for the game in the country.
Speaking on behalf of the policymakers, tourism ministry director general Manisha Saxena addressed the gathering on the government’s vision for the growth of golf tourism and outlined initiatives being taken toward this end.
Speaking with the company’s deep engagement on golf development and real estate behind him, DLF Home Developers joint managing director Aakash Ohri addressed the gathering on the challenges and rewards of the sector while Asian Golf CEO Mike Sebastian spoke on Indian golf’s new paradigms.
Expert inputs
Panel discussions on “Emergence of Golf Leagues in India” and the future of the e-tail business followed that were attended by Digraj Singh, Ateet Gaur and Aditya Malpani, and Karan Bindra, Rahul Bajaj, Pawan Kapoor and Tushar Narang respectively.
A dedicated GIA Greens Section with an educational conference for greenskeepers with over 50 of them in attendance began simultaneously with a number of overseas and domestic experts scheduled to bring their expertise to the table.
Greenskeepers are responsible for a wide range of horticultural tasks, from tending to greens and fairways to pin placements and marking of hazards.
On hand will be a number of experts on different aspects of the job including sustainable agronomy and eco-friendly practices.
Leading companies such as Toro, Rainbird, Jacobsen, EZGO, Wiedenmann, and fertilizer manufacturers will share their insights into turf maintenance.
An interesting section on day two, Friday is a scheduled presentation and talk by Dee Leekha-Houck, co-founder and MD of Houckdesign on disc golf, an increasingly popular version of the game played with frisbees as the ball and nets as the holes.
The summit is also being attended by turf care equipment manufacturers, golf cart producers, irrigation experts, and suppliers of golf equipment and accessories many of whose products and offerings will be on display at demos and an exhibition.
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