He designed his first golf course when he was just 16 and doesn’t know when his passion became his full-time profession. Perhaps, India’s youngest golf course developer, Ashish Vaishnava tells NIDHI MITTAL about his journey

Fancy having a golf course in your backyard? Wouldn’t it be a dream come true? It may just be possible if we go by what this young golf enthusiast and, perhaps, India’s youngest golf course developer has to say. All of 27, Ashish Vaishnava has a vision — that of m...

Small is big, don’t we hear about it most of the time, especially in the last few years. This simply means that things are becoming smaller, shorter, compact and what not; from electrical goods to our daily usable items, something or the other is changing every day, new feel, new technology. Probably it’s a good sign, it shows that we are evolving for better times with a much faster pace. In a time when everything is changing, how can we forget Golf. Golf has a history of b...

Developing A Practice Center

There are many resources like the NGF, articles, and blogs regarding the planning for golf course practice centers. Most of the resources contain valuable information, but for the most part cover the same basic subjects. Here are some other important considerations you might not otherwise find when doing a search on this topic.

Drainage, Stormwater, Irrigation

The desire to insert many amenities into the practice center design can easily make use of all of the ground...

A colleague asked me to meet with him and his club owner to talk about ways to invigorate the membership and possibly attract new members. I had no previous engagement with the club so I was considered as someone with a fresh perspective. We had an informal meeting to discuss ideas about marketing memberships at their private club. They have been doing some interesting activities and I gave them new ideas as well. Here were some of those ideas:

Introduce the club to the membership. Many probab...

Corporate Golf is a term coined for the group of people from corporate world playing Golf on regular basis, either for fun or for business. They keep the Golf courses busy across the Globe where ever Golf is appreciated.

Corporate firms are large organizations with influential decision makers, professionals, high profile personnel and Golf has always been associated with being elite and sophisticated. This is what makes Corporates and Golf go hand in hand. It will be suffice to ...

A golf course is an outdoor recreational facility designed for the game of golf. A standard golf course usually consists of 18 holes, with a tee and fairway. Some golf courses have nine holes and the course is played twice per round, while others may have 27 or 36 holes. Public and private golf courses often have different facilities available in addition to the actual golf course. For example, private golf courses usually have a golf club and restaurant or cafe facilities.

Whenever we think of Golf Courses, we think of lush green environment. Golf has been synonymous to the color green, however the trend is changing; we are now noticing a lot of Golf Courses traveling on the road to sustainability. In simple terms, the Golf Courses are now focusing more on managing the playable area only rather than trying to keep the entire course green. Keeping the Golf Course lush green is a great challenge and it definitely requires a lot of water, fertilizer...

I would like to take the opportunity to answer this interesting & important question. Before we start, it’s important to keep in mind as to what are the different...

Several terms refer to the type of golf course which may be developed:

a) Par 3
• each hole has a par of 3

b) Executive
• mostly par 3 holes with a maximum par for the course rarely exceeding 64
• par 4's are usually under 365 m (400 yd.)
• par 5's are seldom designed into executive courses
• very popular with beginners, high handicappers, seniors and players with limited time

c) Regulation
• usually a total par of 70 to 72
• length of course is over 5,500 m (6,000 yd.) and u...

- Golf courses range in size from 35 to 80 hectares but typically take 50 to 60 hectares. More than half of this on average, forms the comparatively unmanaged areas between the fairways.

- There are 9, 18 or 27 holes, consisting of one to five tees, a fairway often with bunkers, and a green.

- Tees and greens consist of flat areas of closely mown grass, each making up around 1-2% of the total area of the course.

- The fairways are the areas for play between the tee and the green, up to 4...

Golf has always been considered to be for society’s elite to indulge in, barring or discouraging countless from trying a hand at the game. What society has to understand is that golf can be fun and it can be fascinating but it should also be affordable.

When we talk about affordability, we shouldn’t only point out to the playability aspect of the game but to the ability to build golf courses in limited means without incurring huge amount of expenses too. When both the former and latter...

Playing golf is a wonderful experience best understood by the fraternity of players who have enjoyed it for many years. In the past, most of these players would play an 18 hole course given the choice, and most would try to find the best 18 hole course in their area that they could afford. Times have changed for these same people who now have less time and a lot less money than before, and as a consequence their views have changed as well regarding the type of courses they would play. On th...

·          Less land requirement, suits the land availability for the project.

·          Executive Golf Courses consume far less water than a normal Course.

·          Low cost of construction

·          Most Golfers struggle to learn the game – playing a Nine Hole Short Course is beginner friendly and much enjoyable.

·          Distance is not a factor on Executive Courses. Hence this executive course will  encourage

Beginners
Golf for ladies
Seniors
Kids

 ·        Execu...

It is often stated that the game of Golf is for a lifetime, one in which people can compete well into their golden years. Mentioned less often but no less true, it is also a game for children, holding many advantages and life lessons. Until quite recently, Golf was considered as an adult pastime, where children have been relegated to the sidelines as Dad and Mom went out for Golf.

Times have changed and today, amidst a host of activities that pull families apart, more families are discover...

Creating a sustainable golf course requires a land-based design approach that emphasizes a well-conceived routing plan.  A properly routed golf course can contribute toward reducing energy consumption and other costs expended to build a course and maintain it.  Architect's main goal is to route the course to take full advantage of the land’s natural features so that very little earth must be disturbed in the construction phase.  Disturbing large areas adds to construction costs, provides ...

Golf courses today are often designed to preserve the natural environment as much as possible and to provide an important habitat for wildlife and plant life, particularly in rural areas. Even more important, today’s maintenance practices minimize any potential for environmental harm. Indeed, Golf courses are known to be kinder to the environment than the typical residential lawn.

Today’s Golf courses are not only environmentally sensitive, but they can provide important environmental ...

According to the Indian Golf Union, there are currently 195 golf courses and approximately 100,000 golf club members in the country. Out of the existing facilities more than half belong to the Indian Army. Over 50% of the golf courses are 18-hole courses, 40-45% are 9-hole facilities, while there are just a few courses in India having more than 18 holes. There are a number of championship and high-end courses, including a few designed by world famous golf architects.

The courses operate...

Golf Driving Range in simple terms is a practice area for golfers. Its  a facility which is used by new comers to learn the game and by golfers to enhance their playing abilities.

No matter what level of Golf one plays, it’s very important to practice on the driving range.

A driving range is developed so that a beginner or a low handicap player, can have enough privacy and personal space to have a practice session. For this, there are various types of separators are used make up of ...

• 4-7 acres – Driving Range (Practice Area) requires (50-100m) Width X (200-300m) Length
• 8 – 12 acres: Driving range with 3 playing holes holes
• 15-30 acres – 6 or 9 Hole Par 3 Executive Golf Course with Driving Range
  
• 30 – 50 acres – A standard 9 Hole Golf Course with Driving Range
• 50 – 75 acres – An international standard 9 Hole Championship Golf Course and Driving Range
• 75 acres and above – several formats of 18 Hole Golf Course formats with Driving R...

Before the initiation of a golf project, prior understanding of the potential financial and commercial viability of the proposed facility ensures an opportunity for greater success.

The Feasibility Study, Analysis & Report have become a critical component in developing a new golf facility, helping the client to better assess the proposed product offering and to identify potential opportunities, hurdles and rewards in the development process. Basically, a credible and impartial feasibility st...