Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal are now household names. If there is one sport after cricket that has caught the attention of Corporate India, it is golf.

Name an event that is presented by Sahara India Pariwar in association with Chevrolet Captiva, is sponsored by Ballantine’s, has Oberoi and Trident as hospitality partners,travel is courtesy Singapore Airlines and official clothing is provided by Color Plus?

Got it ? No?
Well, here’s some more clue. This event brings together, among several others, the managing directors and CEOs of Pepsico, Honda, Coca-Cola, IBM, Wipro, Infosys, Tatas, Reliance and honchos from several media houses.

Still conf used ? It’s not an international film festival, neither a trade show nor an annual conference of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Well, if you still haven’t guessed right, it is just an amateur golf tournament that is played annually and hosted by a leading economic newspaper brand. And such events are regular happenings on the nation’s golfing calendar.

If there is one sport where business and leisure is going hand-in-hand, golf has caught the imagination of Corporate India. While India has one of the highest densities of amateur golfers in Asia, corporate backing has enabled several Indian pros to crisscross the biggest professional Tours across the world.

Golf is big business. At a time when sportspersons are your best brand ambassadors, it makes sense to back a sport where several home-bred golfers are consistently making their mark in international tournaments. With golf one of the main disciplines in the 2016 Summer Olympics programme in Rio de Janeiro, India can actually dream of a gold medal.

Three homespun golfers -- Arjun Atwal, Jeev Milkha Singh and Jyoti Randhawa -- have put Indian golf on the world map. So much so, the great Tiger Woods has former Indian Open champion Atwal as a regular sparring partner. Atwal, Jeev and Randhawa have all come through the ranks and inspired a whole new generation of golfers who have come to roost on the fairways and greens of the world’s toughest courses.

Atwal has enjoyed success on multiple worldwide tours including the Asian, European and Nationwide Tours. In 1995 he was the leading golfer on the Asian Tour and became the first player to earn upwards of a million dollars when he won the Hero Honda Masters. He also was the second Indian golfer ever to earn a membership on the European Tour.Last year, Atwal played the most exciting round of his life as he became the first Indian to win on the US PGA Tour at Wyndham as well as to procure a PGA Tour card.

Private sponsors like Hero Honda, BILT, Aircel and public enterprises like SAIL have helped attract top Asian and European events in India and particularly, the National Capital Region. There was a time when all top golf events were held at the hallowed Royal Calcutta Golf Club, but not any more. Sponsors prefer central locations and the plethora of designer courses in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon have hosted top-notch events.

No sport gains in popularity until it produces its local heroes. While the Atwals, Jeevs and Randhawas definitely laid the foundation for Indian golf, it is golfers like Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Anirban Lahiri and Shiv Kapur who are taking the legacy forward.

Chowrasia’s has been an amazing rag to riches story and he is not the only one in Indian golf. What makes Chowrasia stand out are his two international titles that any golfer would be proud of. This Februaryend, Chowrasia won the €1.8 million Avantha Masters at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon. The triumph for this Kolkata youth was worth €300,000 along with a diamondstudded trophy. This was the 32-yearold’s second European Tour title following the 2008 Indian Masters in New Delhi. Interestingly, on both occasions, Chowrasia’s final-round tally was five--under 67 that pushed the third-round leader to the second spot. Golf has shaped the lives of many a young man who came from low income group families. Indian golf is replete with stories of how caddies have turned into star golfers. At least five among the top 10 money earners in Indian golf still come from lower middle class families. Golf has thus made a tremendous socio-economic impact in India. As more and more youngsters embrace golf, India continue to attract the game’s biggest brands. Callaway Golf, the $1billion US golf equipment maker, recently started operations in India and signed up Jeev as brand ambassador. It’s teeing off at a time when the game is growing in popularity. The last few years have seen a surge in both the number of players and golf courses. There are an estimated 500,000 golfers and 250 courses, up from 80 five years back.

Thomas T Yang , president, international of Callaway Golf says, “Triggers for growth are there in India. Standard of living, purchasing power and the number of people interested in spending money on leisure are growing. So, golf is bound to grow. If you look around, there are lot of nice cars now sold in India—Mercedes, BMWs. Those are affordable luxuries which people buy to treat themselves. Golf is like that.”

The Professional Golf Tour of India, the recognised official body of professional golf in India has joined hands with IMG Reliance to develop the burgeoning golfing talent in the country. The IMG Reliance Scholarships for India is a unique initiative to identify talented Indian athletes, who will be provided with full sporting and academic scholarships to train and coach at the IMG Academies in Brandenton, Florida.

The selected candidates will enhance their golfing skills at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy facilities, a state-of-the-art golfer’s paradise located within the confines of IMG Academies in Florida. The golfers will receive performance training that not only focuses on the mechanics of the golf swing, but prepares each individual to be successful in the areas of course management, tournament preparation and practice technique.

The aim of the David Leadbetter Golf Academy is to produce golf athletes who have been armed with the tools necessary to excel technically, tactically, physically, and mentally in the competitive world of sports and life. The IMG Academies has an enviable track record in playing a critical role in the development of some of the most renowned names in the world of Golf including Julieta Granada, Paula Creamer, David Gossett, Sean O’Hair and Aree Song among others.

Golf is no more in the domain of the elite. It surely remains an expensive sport but with a lot of support coming from the corporate houses, it is not out of bounds for the focused and passionate

(The writer is the Head of Content, Digital Media, ESPN-STAR Sports)

By Soumitra Bose