India currently has 196 registered golf courses and around 50% of those registered courses are situated on military bases, which are only accessible to military. 35 additional courses are un-affiliated (approx 17 Pitch and Putt Courses). This leaves, roughly 135 courses to cater for a civilian golf demand.
The makeup of the golf course supply is split between 18-hole (39% share) and 9-hole (60% share) facilities with three 27-hole clubs. Research collected for KPMG’s Golf Benchmark Survey indicates that the average number of rounds played per annum at 18-hole facilities ranges from 25,000 to 30,000 (excluding military courses). At some of the busiest clubs where floodlights are used, hours can be extended to accommodate a higher demand.
Average annual revenues for both nine and 18-hole courses range USD 180,000- 200,000 (excluding military courses) with some larger, more popular clubs reaching anywhere up to USD 800,000 per year.
Another major challenge India faces today in developing golf courses is the ability to acquire land in both a cost and time efficient manner. Land parcels are generally small; and developers need to purchase multiple plots at a cost that can quickly inflate. The initial steps taken when planning a project with a golf component can be time consuming, expensive and misunderstood, delaying developments and have, in some instances, resulted in the omission of golf from project master plans.
India may need to build up to 100 new courses to satisfy the demand over the next decade. An increase in participation can be achieved by:
- Building more affordable and accessible facilities
- Increasing activity in junior and academy golf
- Effectively promoting amateur golf to a wider audience by developing more Pitch and Putt courses.
Future course development seems inevitable and may need to come, hand-in-hand with real estate opportunity. Provided that the challenges that exist in India can be overcome, there is great potential in this growing golf market.
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