| In the doom and gloom of India’s golf infrastructure, finally a sliver of hope  (Source: The R&A) A few days ago, The R&A released its Global Golf Participation Report for 2023. It really makes brilliant reading for golf fans as to how their sport is thriving. Except, if you are from India. The report reflects the rude state of health golf is enjoying globally. It showed that number of adults playing golf have increased by 10 million since 2016, and there are now 39.6 million on-course golfers in R&A affiliated markets (excluding the USA and Mexico). Because of its inherent non-contact nature, golf became the go-to sport for recreation and social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic days. And The R&A report says that enthusiasm had not waned as more and more people have been hooked. Participation is up 15 percent from 2020, when there were 34.5 million on-course players. An estimate has been made for the first time as to how many people engage in off-course activity alternative formats of the sport (par-3 golf, indoor simulator golf and driving range use), and that number, outside of the USA and Mexico, is 61.2 million adults. The report then went on to break down the numbers by regions and countries. The top five on-course adult golfer markets in 2023 were Japan (8.1 million), Canada (5.6 million), Republic of Korea (5.4 million), England (3.4 million) and Germany (2.1 million). And Asia was the leading region for people engaging with golf among R&A affiliated regions, with total adult engagement of 22.5 million. Let’s get to numbers for India. Total registered golfers were 175,000, comprising 90,000 males, 60,000 females and 25,000 juniors. Taking the global mean of unregistered golfers being nearly five times that of registered golfers, that would roughly translate to about a million golfers in the country. But here is the more worrying part of the data…these players are trying to play in a total of 296 nine- and 18-hole golf courses, a majority of which are in military areas and thus out of bounds for private citizens of the country. It’s not as if there is no appetite for golf. I live in Dubai and I can vouch that the largest percentage of golf club members here are Indian expats. I keep getting calls from disappointed friends who were unable to get a tee time in golf courses because they are so heavily booked. And there are numerous parents who want their kids to pursue golf, but find it difficult as most private courses have kept only a small window of tee times for junior golfers on weekdays when the kids usually are busy with schools. I also don’t buy the argument of population pressure. Japan has a population density of 338 people per square kilometer, and they have 3,090 nine- and 18-hole courses. We have 481 people per square kilometer and we have just 296 total courses. Singapore has a population density of 8,592, and yet have managed to build 14 courses and driving ranges. It is in such a bleak scenario that I read a very interesting press release that originated from the PGA of America, about partnering with an Indian company, Aivot, and a plan to build a number of integrated golf courses (with golf communities and resorts) in India.  Alok Tiwari I have had a couple of chats with Alok Tiwari, the man behind Aivot, and there is so much hope. A thoroughly unassuming man, Tiwari’s ambitions and conviction in his own belief is inspiring and infectious. There is a bit of MS Dhoni in him. Like the legendary cricketer, Tiwari comes from a small town (Orchha in Madhya Pradesh), and dearly wants to do something exceptional for the country. His core area of competency is artificial intelligence (AI), and it is a matter of luck for Indian golf that he fell in love with golf while heading an IT company in Italy. Tiwari plans to build at least 4-6 golf courses over the next five years and around 12 over the next 10 years. The genesis of it was because when he moved to India from Italy, he just could not find golf courses where he would be able to walk in and play. Tiwari has managed to get land parcels in association with private developers and apart from the PGA of America, he has also tied up with golf course architect Tim Lobb, who will lead the design work on these courses. More importantly, Tiwari has managed to secure a substantial amount of funding for the project. They expect to announce the first golf course in Goa over the next few months. Hopefully, this is the start of a new ‘green’ revolution in India. This also happened… AIG extends title sponsorship of Women’s Open to 2030: Some more good news for women’s golf as AIG has extended its commitment as title sponsor of the AIG Women’s Open through 2030. AIG has been partners with the R&A since 2019 and have focused on elevating women’s golf. They have helped increase the total prize fund for the AIG Women’s Open, which was $9 million at Walton Heath last week. Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A, commented: “In AIG and Peter Zaffino (chairman and CEO, AIG), we have found an ally of women’s golf which has formed the basis of our strong partnership and I am delighted to see that continue. “When I look around at the 2023 AIG Women's Open and what we have achieved in five years, I am incredibly proud; but even more so, I am inspired by what we can still do. The future of women’s golf is bright and it is up to us, with the support of the wider industry, to take bold steps, in a way that is financially sustainable, to ensure our aspirations become reality.”  Lilia Vu (Source: The R&A) Lilia Vu won the AIG Women’s Open on Sunday with a dominant show of 14-under par and a victory margin of six shots over Charley Hull. It was her second major win of the year. The R&A also announced that the AIG Women’s Open will be played at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2026, continuing the plan to take the Championship to world-class venues. PGA Tour releases it 2024 schedule: With the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, the regular season of the PGA Tour comes to an end. The Playoffs will start now, but among those who will be missed in Memphis are Justin Thomas and Adam Scott. It’s the first time The PGA Tour has released its schedule for 2024 season. It has eight designated events, now called ‘Signature Events’, and five of them are going to be no-cut, limited field events. | 
