Golf Course Developments In India

While the vast majority of Golf Courses in India are out of the reach of the general public, this has not stopped a massive increase in the number of golf courses planned for the country. The country recently hosted the Johnnie Walker Classic Golf Tournament which saw a whole host of golfing stars in attendance. Many of these stars it seems used their time in India productively to have tie in their tournament visit with a number of commercial meetings with news that the likes of Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh are in talks about designing new golf courses in the India.

When you consider that India has nearly 200 golf courses already, with another 40 under construction, not to mention the numerous new developments in the pipeline, the size of the sector will start to become apparent. Each of the superstars of golf can expect to earn up to $2 million just for putting their name and input to a new golfing development, in a country where over 250 million people are living on less than one dollar a day.

The process of developing golf courses in India is not as straight forward as other countries, with a development of 200 acres perhaps needing negotiations with up to 200 land owners – each needing to agree terms. While this is a process which can take up to 10 years to complete, and has seen some developments derailed, money talks in the Indian property market with the vast majority of developments getting the go ahead. Golf resorts are particularly popular with wealthy expats who prefer the outlook onto fairways over bustling, polluted city apartments.

As we have seen in other countries around the world, golf is a magnet for both tourists and sports players a like. The sport has also been the spark which has lit the flame of many property markets around the world, with many expecting India to be the next golfing property giant in years to come.

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