Golf: The Luxury Sport Worth Investing In

GOLF MAY BE AN EXPENSIVE SPORT, BUT BUSINESS INVESTORS IN THE STATE ARE PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS FOR ITS SUSTAINABILITY, AS SEEN BY THE VAULTING INTEREST IN THE NEW GOLF COURSES SET UP FOR FUTURE GAINS.

Take One: During the seventh edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2015 held in Gandhinagar about 100-odd top leading corporate leaders, foreign delegates and state and union government officials had an opportunity to participate in the ‘Vibrant Gujarat Golf Cup 27’ at the Kalhaar Blues & Greens – a Nicklaus Design 18-hole golf course situated between Ahmedabad and the Sanand Tata Nano plant.

Take Two: Gujarat’s golfing duo, Brijesh Patel and Sid-dharth Naik, made the Limca Book of Records/National Records for their home state. The first came in June 2014 for having played 182 holes from sunrise to sunset and the second one in 2015 for playing the maximum number of golf courses within 12 hours.

A sign of the times surely – all this – as we turn the spotlight on Gujarat’s intent to seriously position itself as a leading golf destination in India. It’s an interesting scenario right now for the state as the focus on golf happens to also be in sync with the role of golf in India’s own tourism agenda. Golf is an expensive sport and business investors in the state are aware that it will take time to pull in the numbers for its sustainability. But already there’s a burgeoning interest in it as a sport for the future.

‘Golf tourism has inherent strength of its own in Gujarat and can be promoted stand alone,’ as pointed out by the state tourism department, way back in 2012. Even the possibility of its combination with MICE tourism is seen as quite viable. Looks like a win-win situation provided the investments are sound and the management on par, as they say in golfing parlance. Several world-class golf courses have been developed by private endeavour around Ahmedabad and Vadodara. For those who have stayed the course, its serious business and efforts are on to deliver the goods—be it the quality of the grass on the course, the club facilities, service back-up and the training and professional tutoring staff at their Golf Academies.

The 10-hole Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club (GBGC), for example, has identified junior golf as a focus area as it offers great potential for future business. Investor Babul Desai has opted to set up his world class 9 Hole Par 36 Golf Course on his 100-acre slice of real estate of residential plots, coming up on the outskirts of Vadodara in close proximity to one of the best industrial belts in Gujarat. According to Desai, there’s no other city apart from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar that offers such good business potential in this emerging field in the state right now. Home already to the superb GBGC, dating back to the 1930s, Gujarat has recently seen several courses coming up around Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Vadodara.

Gujarat now has its own golf association tasked to manage and represent the sport, for which it’s already been given the green signal by the Indian Golf Union (IGU), the apex body of golf in India. This step will be a huge boost for accruing funds for promoting the sport. According to Samarjitsinh Gaekwad, ex-IGU council member and president of Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club (GBGC), with this accreditation, ‘Every golf club in the state will be treated like a district. The Gujarat golf association will come under IGU’s west zone that comprises Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Goa. We will start getting funds and several golf tournaments and programmes will be held in the state through this association.’

KENSVILLE COUNTRY CLUB – The 18-hole Jeev Milkha Singh signature golf course at Kensville Country Club (an hour’s drive from Ahmedabad) is seeing an increasing number of golfers, as the promotion of the sport goes into top gear, pushed as it is being by no less a man than Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his home state. During the third edition of the Gujarat Kensville Challenge Golf, golfing aficionados were treated to the strongest ever field as both the Indian Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) and European Challenge season for 2013 season teed off here. The Kensville Challenge has now become the regular season-opener for both the Tours.

The home of the course, which has seen a slew of celebrities—from Sachin Tendulakarto Amitabh Bachchan check out their strokes—is one of Ahmedabad’s most popular holiday resorts—Kensville, which attempts to give its guest a privileged experience each time they come by. The course has played host in the past to the Mercedes Trophy, Audi Quattro Cup and BMW Golf Cup International. The club house, overlooking the 1 tee and the 18 green, is a marvellous blend of colonial architecture and design and faultless service. The Kensville Golf Academy has been meticulously designed to provide unparalleled golfing experiences for all who aspire to excel in the game. It features a floodlit range for night golf, shaded driving range bays, state-of-the-art tuition aids and top end coaching professionals, practice putting greens, a well-equipped Pro-shop and a restaurant and Coffee Shop.

KALHAAR BLUES & GREENS GOLF COURSE – Amongst the state’s most prestigious golf courses, the 18-hole Nicklaus Design Kalhaar Blues & Greens golf course offers both professional and amateur golfers a load of challenges. Sited between Ahmedabad and the Tata Nano Plant, it is India’s first Nicklaus Design course. The course adheres to the tough standards of the US Golf Association.

The lazy sprawl of the 21,520,000 sq ft Lifestyle Community Project also figures 801 residential villas—setting an ambience for resort-style living for the residents. The clubhouse features an array of enticing facilities including a spa. The course is spread over 175 acres and punctuated by sand and beach bunkers and plays to 7425 yards from the championship tees, making it one of India’s longest golf courses. Over 35 acres of the terrain features 14 waterbodies and an Island green is featured on Hole No.7— a 174 yards, Par 3. It also features a Club House, Pro Shop, Golf Academy and a spa.

GAEKWAD BAR0DA GOLF CLUB – Set in the very heart of Vadodara city is one of Gujarat’s most prestigious golf clubs. The Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club of the Baroda royals offers golfers the great privilege of teeing off in the only private golf course in and around Vadodara. Its setting alone (the Laxmi Vilas Palace built in 1890 by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III) adds to the fabulous heritage of this royal expanse of verdure which has played host to a slew of jetsetting celebs in the past. Established in the 1930s as a private course, it was renovated and opened to the public in the 1990s as the Gaekwad Baroda Golf Club (GBGC) by Maharajah Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad’s grandson Samartjitsinh, a former Ranji Trophy cricket player.

The 10-hole course (designed and developed by Ranjit Nanda) is a joy for both amateur and professional golfers. The challenging GBGC course features immaculate greens punctuated by a slew of natural waterbodies, five teeing ground options on each hole and perfect layout for shot makers and strategic players and the driving range (a quick walk from the main course) has 10 bays set amidst gorgeous surrounds. The Moti Baug Palace on the estate serves as the main clubhouse complete with a judiciously stocked Pro-shop, a verandah Cafe facing the golf course and a multi-cuisine restaurant.

Sporting fans can also enjoy its other facilities which include tennis, badminton, gymnasium and a large swimming pool for complete family recreation. It’s not easy to become a member but to get to play on it even as a guest is a great experience. Committed to encouraging the ‘gentleman’s game’ it has a membership programme which includes basic coaching to help new members pick up the game fast to start playing on the main course.

THE GULMOHAR GREENS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, located near Ahmedabad en route to the prestigious Nano project, has recently launched a unique facility for golfing aficionados and potential golfers. The adventure golf course, a result of over a year of planning to encourage golf amongst a flexi target group, is actually a miniature version of the real thing. According to Alpesh Parikh, the firm’s Managing Director, ‘the course is ideal for aiming and putting for beginners, which will also encourage them to practice and ease imperfections before taking on the pressure of playing on an actual course.’

Positioned both as a practice zone and a fun activity it will ideally serve as a base for totting up the numbers of golf connoisseurs from around Gujarat. The adventure course will be open daily from 6.30am to 11.30am and between 4pm and 9pm. Set amidst a lush expanse of 75 acres, the Gulmohar Greens is already a major attraction for golfers. The course has been designed by architects Nimishbhai Patel and Parulben Zaveri. The 9-hole course features a 5-acre driving range with 13 bays presently and plans to extend it to 2 tiers and 25 bays, a practice green with bunkers to hone player’s putting skills.

The course is interesting given its rating of 69.4 and slope rating of 127. A quick step away is the well-stocked Pro shop, featuring most leading brands of golf and lifestyle products and also has a wide variety of books on golf. The club also has a golf academy which has state-of-the-art equipment, high-end gadgets and software for coaching and the services of a professional coach. On offer too are coaching packages for both junior golfers and adults alike.

OPAL BY CAMBAY – Golfing at the Opal Cambay, set in close proximity to the Mahatma Mandir, a kilometre from state capital Gandhinagar, is fast gaining popularity for its lovely setting and delightful 9-hole golf course with 30 turf stations, flood-lit courses for night golfing, friendly instructors and neat villas with golf-course views. Spread over an area of 78,746 square metres, the resort regularly plays host to professional tournaments. Amateurs can also enjoy experiences of its 240-metre long and 40-metre wide driving range punctuated by 16 driving stations. Of interest too is the virtual golfing segment that features hi-tech simulation golfing. Even non-members can apply for their training courses run by professionals at its Golf Academy.

THE BELVEDERE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB – Located in the quaint Shantigram, the township established by the Adani Group in Ahmedabad, The Belvedere Golf & Country Club holds the promise of an exceptional golfing experience. On its impressive spread of a 9-hole golf course which plays to a par of 36 amidst a 100 acres of lush verdure, the Belvedere Golf & Country Club features an excellent driving range with 22 bays, a chipping green and practice bunker and also offers golf lessons at the on-site Golf Academy. The Pro-shop, also located on-site, is well stocked and the restaurant is popular with all of Belvedere’s golfing guests. The interesting aspect about the driving range at the Belvedere is that the complex also features a training room as well as a game analysis room featuring a sophisticated V1 Pro video analysis along with a Sam Puttlab tool, which uses ultrasound to analyse putting strokes.There’s a gym to warm up and for basic toning up.