Legendary American golfer Arnold Palmer once said, “Success in the game of golf depends less on strength of body than strength of mind and character.” Golf has a reputation for being a rich man’s sport, unassociated with the working class or kids. In a country where professional golfers such as Anirban Lahiri, Aditi Ashok and Rahil Gangjee are few and far between, it's a sport that leaves a lot to be desired, especially at the grassroot level.

The Golf Revolution is aiming to change that, making golf accessible to young students across the country. It’s eliminating the entry barriers to create a safe, nurturing community and is training the next generation of golfers using data driven technology for wholesome development in the sport.

In an exclusive interview with SPOGO, we spoke to the founders of The Golf Revolution, Mr. Sachit Soni and Mr. Jaspal Kharbanda about making the sport accessible for kids, the challenges they have faced in promoting golf in India, use of technology at the grassroot, adapting to the COVID pandemic, it’s impact so far and future goals and aspirations.

Q 1) Golf has a reputation for being a rich man’s sport, how do you plan to make golf accessible, especially to kids?

Ans: We are making golf affordable to kids by providing free clubs. We are also creating an infrastructure in schools so that they don’t have to invest. Making golf accessible in schools ensures children don’t have to go anywhere else which also takes care of safety and security of the students, making the parents happy. The fees are also very affordable and all the classes are conducted under the supervision of not just one but two to three coaches depending on the number of students. It is affordable in every way whether it’s equipment or coaches at a deeply discounted price.

Q 2) What are the challenges you are facing in promoting golf in India? How are you overcoming those challenges?

Ans: One of the challenges we face is getting through to the education institutes, which is time consuming. The principal’s, key stakeholders and other decision makers are very busy and the procedure takes time. We use social media channels and word of mouth to build a large network of education institutes. The other challenge is there are not enough trainers in the country. To solve it, we have started training the trainers free of cost. We have caddies, professionals, retired army people who are trained and expand their knowledge to others. Apart from that, there are not many golf courses to train on. Apart from Delhi, other cities don’t have many golf courses that can be used for younger students.

Q 3) How is The Golf Revolution employing technology to make learning golf data driven and precise?

Ans: There are three types of technology available in the market right now. One is launch monitors, which tests the quality of your ball strikes. The other is sensors which measure the quality of your swing and the third is simulators which simulate a golf course in which you play in for training. We use all three of them to train our kids.

Q 4) According to you, what are the various benefits of golf that kids can benefit from?

Ans: Golf is a unique sport because the ball is stationary, all other sports are reactive. Those sports test your reflexes but since the ball is stationary in golf, you are learning to focus and concentrate. It’s also a sport with no referees, so it encourages integrity.  A kid has to choose amongst 14 clubs, analyze various factors such as wind, water etc so it helps their decision making. It’s also good for networking, improving hand-eye coordination and it also provides opportunities for scholarships around the world. Golf is good for seniors as well because it’s a good way to network with others for a span of 4-5 hours and the best of deals are closed while playing the sport.

Q 5) How is The Golf Revolution adapting to the COVID pandemic with more kids staying indoors?

Ans: We have created an online platform where we host video classes and teach the students the fundamentals and fitness required for golf. The platform also enables them to talk and seek guidance from our coaches. It's a complete virtual platform for golf where they can interact and share their experiences.

Q 6) How much of an impact has The Golf Revolution made at the grassroot level so far?

Ans: The impact has been pretty considerable in a very short span of time. We have made presentations in front of 150 schools, done demos, held operations for the top 10-15 schools and there is actually a very sizable demand in the market. The educational institutions also are quite happy to welcome an initiative like this. Also, it has been quite successful in creating jobs for EWS. We have picked up people from the colleges and EW sector and trained them. We were once doing a demo and there were some street children who wanted to learn and see what we were trying to do. That's the kind of impact it has generated in the limited period of time as we could pursue this only for 6-8 months before the COVID 19 pandemic hit us. Besides, kids and parents are loving the sport too. We have received calls from parents where they tell us about how disciplined their child has become after getting involved with golf.

Also, under our Caddie to Coach Program we train our caddies from EW sector to become golf coaches and one such Caddie once gladly told us that his child will be elated to learn that his father is no longer a caddie but a coach now. So for these people to get the kind of stature as a coach is quite a big thing.

Q 7) What are your goals and aspirations for the future? How do you aim to achieve them?

We want to take the game of golf to every nook and corner of India. The sport hasn't got its rightful due because it is accepted as a rich man's sport. We are trying to change this perception along with trying to uplift the EWF sector. Another of our goals is to involve girls in the sport and change the perception of girls who feel they are incapable of playing sports. Converting Caddies into coaches is another objective so that we can also bring about an improvement in their income levels as a Coach earns a lot more than a Caddie. Our target is to reach 5000 schools and to achieve this, we are building a strong management team of passionate golfers for us to travel from city to city to the entire country and build this network of trained coaches. We have started with NCR now, next target are places like UP, Punjab, Haryana, the northern part of India and gradually go to the southern part. We have shortlisted 12 to 15 cities all around the country, initially we want to start with tier one cities before we move onto tier two cities. Hence, building our strong team, bringing the right kind of people with passion for golf and changing the lives of young people  is what our entire objective is.