You can play golf: Equipment, advice you need to pick up sport

Quality equipment is not expensive and access to private or public courses isn't that difficult

Manu Kohli, 49, a finance industry professional in Delhi recalls why he took up amateur golf five years ago. "The game is a true reflection of life with every day a new one, and your last day’s score has no relevance, and you start afresh. The thing that draws me every time to those lovely greens is walking and the friendships that you develop while playing the sport,” he says.

"This is a game of skill and of patience, and one does get addicted to it,” says Kohli. Golf combines athleticism and strategic thinking and to play it well one needs to invest in quality equipment.

“Till such time that you feel that the adrenaline is going to flow in a manner that you are hooked to the game, you should not purchase any golf equipment or make do with the economical Chinese and Korean variety. You should buy the premium stuff that is made by some Japanese and American manufacturers, once you are sure of your involvement in the game,” says Anil Seolekar, president of Golf Industry Association (GIA), a non-profit that promotes the game.

Indian golfers Anirban Lahiri and Shubhankar Sharma use equipment by Titleist, TaylorMade and Callaway.

Set for golf

A golf set can cost between Rs 50,000 and Rs 15 lakh and a good one will last 10-15 years. Kunal Singhai, co-founder of online store Golfoy.com, says: “There are usually 11 clubs in a golf set. Price range at Golfoy starts from Rs 45,000 and goes up to Rs 5 lakh, with an average range of Rs 1.5 lakh per set.”

Golfoy has an equipment selection guide for customers to select a set by answering questions. The company’s training equipment allows customers to check their weak areas and find a suitable product.

“Golf clubs are based on aerodynamics. Unlike other sports where you use the flip of a hand or spin of the wrist to move the direction in which you want to manoeuvre the ball, here it is the club that does it all for you,” says Deepali Shah Gandhi, director of Zaverchand Sports, a Mumbai-based distributors of golf equipment.

"We are distributors of Titleist which makes clubs…in a price range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh. Your clubs may last a lifetime if you maintain them,” she says.

It is a myth that you need a lot of time and money to play golf, says Ateet Gaur, honorary secretary of GIA and founder.

“You need not buy anything. Allow your interest to develop. Initially you can just use the public golf courses and pay and play and take all equipment on hire. You will get irons for Rs 100, and in less than Rs 500 you will get coaching and equipment,” says Gaur, who is also managing director of Trinity Golf India Pvt Ltd.

"As you get hooked to the game, you can start buying and then there is a whole range of products available. You can buy a golf set for even Rs 30,000 just as a cricket enthusiast would buy a cricket bat for Rs 25,000. In terms of time, you can play nine holes in two hours or go and practice at the driving range for one hour. It totally depends on your wish and convenience.”

The other myths about golf are that it doesn’t help burn calories or that you have to sacrifice sleep to play. A good round of golf will be a walk of seven km. “I get up at 5 am simply because I love the game but I don’t call it sacrifice. This is a game which if you love, you will play it and it is driven by passion,” says Anil Seolekar, chairman and owner of Luxury Oxford Golf Resort in Pune.

Staying the course

One complaint people who want to play golf have is access to courses. GIA is lobbying for establishing courses, facilitating government interactions for import concessions on equipment, and getting investments. If can get access to the Indian Army and Air Force’s golf courses in Delhi, you can play an 18 hole for Rs 1,000 on a weekday and Rs 1,500-2,000 on a weekend. Private real estate developers DLF and Jaypee charge more than Rs 3,000 on a weekday and 6,000 on a weekend to use their courses in Delhi. 

“The army has 80-90 per cent of India’s golf courses. Somewhere down the line, they don’t allow private or foreigners," says GIA president Seolekar. "The best model of opening access is creation of public golf courses such as Qutab Golf Course (in South Delhi) and the upcoming one in Dwarka (in Southwest Delhi) where there will be three-year, five-year memberships.”

The DDA’s golf course in Qutab charges Rs 1,200 on a weekday and Rs 2,000 on a weekend and the one at Bhalswa takes Rs 600 and Rs 900.

India’s Aditi Ashok won the women’s individual golf silver medal at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China. When the game cuts across gender and economic classes and the middle class takes to it, that’s when the golf revolution will happen in India, said an industry insider.

What playing golf costs
 

Item

Brands

Price (in Rs)

Golf set: Driver, Woods, Irons, Wedges, Putter

Taylormade, Callaway, Ping, Srixon, Macgregor

70,000-15 lakh

Golf Shoes

Footjoy, Ecco, Adidas, Decathlon  

5,000-20,000

Collar T-shirt

Adidas, Under Armour, Nike

3,000-10,000

Trousers

Taylormade, Adidas, Under Armour, Nike

3,000-10,000

Gloves

Taylormade, Footjoy, Decathlon

500-3,000

Ball

Titleist, Taylormade, Nike  

100-1,000

Charges per game

Karma Lakelands, Qutub, DGC, DLF, Oxford, Bangalore Golf Club, ITC  

1,000-10,000 per 18 holes

Golf bag

Taylormade, Callaway, Titleist

4,000-20,000

Source: Market research