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As Indian golf comes of age and becomes more than just a game played by the elite, Indian tournaments too have become more popular with top players attracted to the country’s world-class courses. They include the likes of Adam Scott and Ernie Els, both top-10 players in the world, former World No. 1 Vijay Singh of Fiji and eight-times European No. 1 Colin Montgomerie.

They were all in India last month for tournaments like the Emaar-MGF Indian Masters and the Johnnie Walker Classic. And, these stalwarts were talking not just about their ambitions on the greens but are also looking at India as a golfing destination.

In addition, golfing legends like Greg ‘Shark’ Norman, Nick Faldo, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus have already made contact with a lot of developers to come up with high-end golfing properties. Each of these legendary players, who have designed signature golf across the globe, are now looking seriously at India to enlarge their footprints.

Till a few years ago, Americans and Europeans looked at China as the big market - which it still is - but now the interest levels are very high in India. So much so, the golf community feels that India has greater growth potential in golf than even China.

China now has some of the world’s finest courses. The Mission Hills complex in Shenzhen has 10 designer championships courses, making it the biggest golf resort in the world. Dozens of courses in China are being designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie and so on. The Mission Hills has 10 courses, each designed by a renowned name and China now has more than 200 courses, with many more on the way.

By V. Krishnaswamy