They say Multi-Billion dollar deals are supposed to get signed when you play golf with the plutocrats. Strangely, the Nabob Parvenu class in India hasn’t quite resonated with such fables despite golf’s presence for quite sometime in India. Thus, just to put paid to current perceptions of the pseudo-club, B&E does a quasi-subjective survey of the sport (and is surprised)
Daddy Warbucks was a fictional individual in the cult legacy comic strip, Little Orphan Annie. Introduced in 1924, Warbucks represented the rugged individualist turned lumpenproletariat turned richling millionaire who did not need group-think or nepotistic support to succeed in life. In other words, Warbucks represented a philosophy that flew exactly opposite to what is currently represented by the peddle that the sports of golf propagates – that the sport assists in business relations developing and in deals getting signed. In India, despite the flim-flam wasted over years, golf hasn’t quite managed to drive the promised business perception that well! Realising that the chaff needed to be separated now more than ever, B&E jumped into the pseudo-survey of this sport; of course, for the sake of the nation and Warbucks!
We jump directly into the figures. First, the flat indices, and we were surprised at the optimism within the industry. The Asian Golf Course Owners Association, for one, has created a fund worth Rs.6.70 billion for the development of golf in India alone. The cumulative prize money for all professional golf tournaments played in India has gone up by nearly 50% this fiscal over the last one from around Rs.110 million to Rs.150 million. Padamjit Singh Sandhu, Director, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the sanctioning authority for all except three professional golf events in the country, told B&E that he expects a 25% annual hike in prize money this year. Prize money apart, the number of international professional golf tours played in India in the next fiscal would be around six, up from three last year, with the likes of Avantha Masters already an established tour. Now, we’re told, even the Kensville Indian Open is coming to India from January 2011, with 108 international players vying for sumptuous prize money.
So are we still striking deals on the golf course? Gen (Retd.) A Parmar, Director General, Indian Golf Union, tells B&E: “That paradigm is now history. Business is being made in golf, around golf and also, as of old, over golf.” In short, golf itself has apparently become serious business. Consider this: the IGU (which is the governing body for golf and controls all amateur golfing in the country) runs the Indian Junior Golf Tour, and the national amateur ranking of a player depends on his scores in this tourney. This year, the event is being played in Delhi, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Coimbatore, Ooty and Kolkata. According to an estimation by SportzPower.com, the prime portal in India’s business of sports, the total spend on the tour is around Rs.70 million. An expert explained that we have an increasing number of amateurs wanting to contest, and from 70 or 80 till about 5 years ago, they had 200 applicants this year for the contest. That means 200 children are playing, going from city to city, with either one or both parents moving with them, spending on airfare, hotel stay, private taxies, eateries, calling home over mobile phones – it’s big business activity. And this is just about one amateur event that does not even have prize money. So if just one junior tour can re-circulate Rs.70 million, it is an easy guess how much an international event like the Kensville Open or Avantha Masters would impact the economy as a whole.
Daddy Warbucks was a fictional individual in the cult legacy comic strip, Little Orphan Annie. Introduced in 1924, Warbucks represented the rugged individualist turned lumpenproletariat turned richling millionaire who did not need group-think or nepotistic support to succeed in life. In other words, Warbucks represented a philosophy that flew exactly opposite to what is currently represented by the peddle that the sports of golf propagates – that the sport assists in business relations developing and in deals getting signed. In India, despite the flim-flam wasted over years, golf hasn’t quite managed to drive the promised business perception that well! Realising that the chaff needed to be separated now more than ever, B&E jumped into the pseudo-survey of this sport; of course, for the sake of the nation and Warbucks!
We jump directly into the figures. First, the flat indices, and we were surprised at the optimism within the industry. The Asian Golf Course Owners Association, for one, has created a fund worth Rs.6.70 billion for the development of golf in India alone. The cumulative prize money for all professional golf tournaments played in India has gone up by nearly 50% this fiscal over the last one from around Rs.110 million to Rs.150 million. Padamjit Singh Sandhu, Director, Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the sanctioning authority for all except three professional golf events in the country, told B&E that he expects a 25% annual hike in prize money this year. Prize money apart, the number of international professional golf tours played in India in the next fiscal would be around six, up from three last year, with the likes of Avantha Masters already an established tour. Now, we’re told, even the Kensville Indian Open is coming to India from January 2011, with 108 international players vying for sumptuous prize money.
So are we still striking deals on the golf course? Gen (Retd.) A Parmar, Director General, Indian Golf Union, tells B&E: “That paradigm is now history. Business is being made in golf, around golf and also, as of old, over golf.” In short, golf itself has apparently become serious business. Consider this: the IGU (which is the governing body for golf and controls all amateur golfing in the country) runs the Indian Junior Golf Tour, and the national amateur ranking of a player depends on his scores in this tourney. This year, the event is being played in Delhi, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Coimbatore, Ooty and Kolkata. According to an estimation by SportzPower.com, the prime portal in India’s business of sports, the total spend on the tour is around Rs.70 million. An expert explained that we have an increasing number of amateurs wanting to contest, and from 70 or 80 till about 5 years ago, they had 200 applicants this year for the contest. That means 200 children are playing, going from city to city, with either one or both parents moving with them, spending on airfare, hotel stay, private taxies, eateries, calling home over mobile phones – it’s big business activity. And this is just about one amateur event that does not even have prize money. So if just one junior tour can re-circulate Rs.70 million, it is an easy guess how much an international event like the Kensville Open or Avantha Masters would impact the economy as a whole.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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