New Delhi, Jan 23(.) Veteran Indian golfer Gaurav Ghei feels that the union government’s support for the ‘gentleman’s game’ has increased lately, but accessibility remains a major challenge for further popularising the game in the country.

“The government is recognising golf’s importance as it is now an Olympic sport. You need the support of the government for creating driving ranges, public golf courses and so on. It’s the push that golf needs, especially because land in our country is scarce.

“What is required now is a push from the corporate sector, especially through their CSR programmes. I am involved with Delhi Golf society which is the state association of Golf. Over the last two years, in a very small way I have been collecting funds through my friends. We are supporting golfers, especially the EWS (Economically weaker section) kids to go out and play. We are looking after their travel, equipment, etc.

“If we can do that on a limited scale then imagine if corporate India comes in what can be achieved” he told . on the sidelines of the ‘Golf Growth Initiative’ event on Thursday at the Delhi Golf Club.

‘Golf Growth Initiative’ is a joint programme of the Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL), Indian Golf union (IGU), the Professional Golfers’ Association of India (PGAI), and The Golf Foundation (TGF) to build the next generation of Indian golfers.

Ghei, who in 1997 became the first Indian to qualify for a Major event after he made the cut for the British Open, said the mentorship programme of the Golf Growth Initiative” will be in two parts.

“On the one end, we will be looking at the grassroots level young players, to ensure the kids that have potential get serious, developing as per a more structured programme. The other part is when we are playing with some of the younger players like Udayan (Mane), Sarthak (Chhibber) etc who come up to us for guidance.”

He said that cricketers like Yuvraj Singh seriously perusing golf and being part of the IGPL brings in a glamour quotient into the sport.

“Cricketers taking up golf adds a huge glamour quotient to the IGPL, they naturally progress to Golf as they have good hand eye co-ordination. For any sportsman who has performed in a stadium where there is a lot of hoopla, like a cricket stadium there is something therapeutic about being out in the golf alone,” said Ghei.

The golfer said making the sport accessible to the populace is the biggest challenge.

“We need to make golf accessible to kids from all kinds of backgrounds, and that is the biggest challenge and that should be the biggest objective. That’s where IGPL has come in and partnered with all the organisations so that we can go and reach the grassroots levels. It is not something that will happen immediately, but maybe 10 years down the line.”

He felt that budding Indian golfers today need not train under a foreign coach or train abroad, as tournaments and competition in the country have reached a competitive level

“If you see some of the best golfers, for example, Anirban (Lahiri), Subhankar(Sharma) and others, these guys, apart from Jeev (Milkha Singh) none of them have played college golf abroad, they never had a foreign coach – all Indian.

“When we were growing up, we had this in our heads that you can’t make it to the top level unless you have a foreign coach. That’s not the case anymore, you can stay in India and become a world champion,” he added. . . .