Do you want to be a Golf Professional or a Professional Golfer?
What is the scope of a golf player/practitioner's work in India?
Golf players are mostly amateurs but then in the pro category there are two types of people: The golf professional, who teaches golf or runs golf facilities; and the professional golfer, who plays golf for a living. The scope of work is great as this is the fastest growing sport in India and with it brings jobs relating to, but not limited to, playing golf - for example, maintenance of the greens, management of facilities, teaching, running events, refereeing, etc.
Apart from playing, what can one do to earn a living out of golf?
Caddies generally earn a daily wage unless the facility is a private one where they may earn a salary and also commission on a per round basis. Coaches earn from giving lessons and doing coaching camps and other teaching assignments. There are front office staff or managers, range attendants, greens keepers, general managers etc who help in running a facility from start to finish. We have merchandisers running the pro-shop.
What is India's position among golf-playing nations? Has there been any major improvement in playing standard of an Indian player in international tournaments?
India has some great golfers playing across the globe and pretty much on all the major tours like the European and PGA Tours. Golf is an individual sport. Therefore, the numbers of good golfers need to steadily increase and show dominance on world tours, in order to establish India as a key player in the golf world. Nevertheless, the West is taking note of India's progress in the sport and we will have some better golfers emerge in the years to come, as golf is now an Olympic sport to be played in Rio in 2016.
Who all are the major golf playing countries in the world? How would you explain the rise of China in the global golf arena? Where does India stand vis-à-vis China and the rest of the world (in terms of golf infrastructure).
The United States of America dominates the world and then, there is Europe, Australia, South Africa, Asia and so on. China has developed great infrastructure and it is using golf to improve the tourism sector and in the process, there has been an increase in (the number of) golfers from China. We will, however, have to wait and see how it develops in the subcontinent. China is ahead of India as far as infrastructure is concerned. Also, there are more quality golf courses in China as compared to India but then on the player front, we still have a better presence in the international golf arena.
What are the challenges before professional golfers in India?
Professional golfers require regular tournaments and bigger events with more money and of course, better training facilities with more hi-tech equipment; also health, fitness and nutrition are very important but are not taken seriously. Golf in our country is growing to be a very big industry, which will open many employment opportunities in the years to come.
Author: Pranab Ghosh (HT Horizons)
Date: 23rd November, 2010
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