Over the past few months, the golf industry in India has been making modest efforts to package together various golf conferences, summits and forums. All genuinely commendable efforts, but somebody in my opinion is missing something. I say this without singling out any of the organizers making these initiatives. Have any of them even assessed how the industry must embark towards making radical and revolutionary changes that will alter how the game is played, promoted and developed?
So what is missing at these forums? The speakers are mostly regional and the audience likewise is mostly local too. It’s the same faces, be it golf course owners, golf teachers, event managers, golf equipment manufacturers, golf association & golf club administrators. Sure there are a few new faces and names but largely aren’t they all the same people we have been hearing speak or display their wares since any of us became golfers or followers? Sure some (read a few) meaningful topics are discussed but the day ends up becoming more of an industry party where you meet & greet all your friends from within the industry in one day, under one roof. Spend a couple of hours and you’ve pretty much met everyone.
What makes one conference any different from the other? Why is it perceived that these gatherings only promote friends and favourites, or those that have the money to buy booths? How about recognizing and promoting young talent that seeks and deserves recognition? Why just the young, it could be anyone from across the globe that has years ago been a part of a market that is similar to the way ours is today? Are we really that bankrupt of ideas, sponsors or USP’s to bring these people across to India? Or are we looking at each of these gatherings as a simple conservative balance sheet? Or an eye wash to show to the powers that be that something tangible is happening or being done?
Why do all the summits feature golf stakeholders from the NCR region only? Does anyone realize that a golf industry in India does exist outside of the NCR and is growing possibly at a faster pace? Sure there is more action in the NCR currently, but it seems to be a situation of the organizers being comfortable and taking the safer route out to guarantee attendance and participation, rather than going out there and making “CHANGE HAPPEN.”
I heard something a few years ago from my dear friend and mentor Terry Anton, the inventor of SNAG Golf. Terry recited a short story to me that completely changed my outlook when I was a rookie in the golf industry…
Two salesmen from a shoe company were sent to Africa to explore new markets. They completed their surveys and wrote back to their manager.
The first salesman’s report read, “Boss, terrible trip, no market for our shoes, nobody here wears footwear!!!”
The second salesman’s report read, “Sir, let us set up an office here, it’s a great market, they don’t wear shoes, we can sell shoes to everyone!!!”
Simple reality, nobody wants to be the first to make the change and take the plunge but everyone wants to be the first to be second!!!
So who wants to make the change? Someone amongst us needs to go out there and take a chance. Why can’t we attract or invite international speakers, golf legends, golf coaches with pedigree, leading golf course designers & agronomists, golf operation management consultants, club fitters, people we know as global champions and icons, people and companies we know that were and continue to be a part of the GLOBAL CHANGE.
I’d like to suggest to the stakeholders and young Indian entrepreneurs as well as the Indian government representatives now wanting to drive Indian golf all the way to the 2016 Olympics to venture outside India, visit and participate in golf conferences as observers and see how and why these conferences work overseas. Look at the scale and size of the hugely successful Asia Pacific Golf Summit for example. This is held in a new location in Asia every year. The Asia Pacific Golf Summit was inaugurated in Singapore in 2007, moved in 2008 to the Southern China Province of Guangdong, Shenzhen before moving to Kuala Lumpur in 2009 and onto Bangkok in 2010. This year it is being held in Pattaya, and it’s a matter of time before it heads to India…
It brings together the best of breed in each of the categories and is extremely well attended by global stakeholders. The line-up of speakers and panelists is stellar, the best and brightest brains in the golf industry carefully handpicked by the organizers from across the globe, people and companies that have worked on very successful projects, be it player development or profitable golf businesses and bring with them eons of experience. They bring on stage golf legends and past champions such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Annika Sorenstam, Greg Norman and Tony Jacklin to name a few. Speakers from top academies such as Nicklaus Academies and Heartland Academies, and successful coaches such as Brian Mogg, Hank Haney, Steven Giuliano and Tony Meechai. These people are class acts, who if not for these opportunities, we would otherwise never have had an opportunity to interact with. They speak about their experiences, their struggles, their future plans, they teach you so much, things you cannot learn through years of toiling unless you have the courage and will to go there and hear them speak. Shows such as these give you access and open your eyes. This is one of the biggest contributing factors to enhance my learning graph, and has kept me ahead of the curve.
Most people learn very quickly that from these platforms the ultimate aim is to make a difference by setting a new course for growth in the game. These experiences gave people like me the confidence to speak my mind, I realized very quickly that I wasn’t much different in my thinking from the way they were, all that differed was experience, exposure and confidence.
I take myself as a regular passionate Indian stakeholder wanting to grow the sport in India, be a part and a reason for the positive change, I needed fine tuning and that is exactly what I got after regularly participating and making myself a part of the story. It has served as a forum for key industry players to meet, discuss and exchange ideas on the challenges and opportunities confronting the industry, be it in Japan, South Korea, China, India or Southeast Asia, golf is experiencing challenges, some good and some not so good. Summits like these are events that no serious decision-maker in Indian golf can afford to miss.
The underlining point here that is often overlooked is that these conferences give you an opportunity to learn, and are beyond just ‘doing business’.
Few can dispute that to achieve growth in India, there must be changes. That's why the following critical topics are among those for which answers must be found:
■ Growing the Game - innovative ways to drive more people to the golf course, get more women on to golf and get more kids involved.
■ Change the Game - new ways to play golf, make it FUN.
■ Golf Course Design - keep it simple and go with trusted names that give you what you need.
■ Club Management - boost the club experience for members and players, make golf a family activity.
■ Golf Academies - are they assets or a waste?
The industry in India as a whole needs to embark on radical and revolutionary changes that must seriously look at how the game is played, promoted and developed.
Let’s break away from convention and place the focus on what golf in India really needs today. Are we all going to sit back and gloat over claims and media hysteria relating to a so-called 'golf boom in India'. Why not train the spotlight on some of the challenges currently facing the growth of the game in India.
Herein lays the challenge. Do we as industry stakeholders pirouette around the challenges or do we take the bull by the horns and grapple it down? Let’s snap out of self denial and get out there and learn how to make CHANGE HAPPEN…
