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Updated: October 18, 2024 11:46 p.m. STI
Pune (Maharashtra) (India), October 18 (ANI): The 11th edition of Golf & Turf Summit started at Oxford Golf Seaside resort. The central theme of this year’s summit was “2024: the Golf Is the turf and turf industry ready for new challenges and innovations?
Organized by the Golf Industrial Association (GIA), THE Golf & Turf Summit was inaugurated by Chief Guest Suman Billa, Additional Secretary (Ministry of Tourism), Government of India. This year’s summit saw over 40 esteemed speakers, including renowned golf course architects, turf managers and industry stalwarts, taking part in insightful panel discussions and interactive workshops, a release said.
GIA President Anirudha Seolekar delivered the opening and welcome address by Anit Mehrotra, Vice President, which was followed by the keynote address by Suman Billa on the theme “Motivating Sustainable Tourism Growth through Golf: Policies, strategies and partnerships”.
“India has been the fastest growing global economy for several years now. We have grown 7-8% over the last 8-9 years and there is nothing in the market to suggest that will change in the next two years. 5.4% The global average is around 10%. Our aim is to double this figure from 5 to 10 per cent in the next two years,” said Suman Billa, Additional Secretary (Ministry of Tourism), in his speech, as quoted by the press release of Golf Industrial Association.
“For this to happen, multiple engines need to work to make the growth meaningful and rapid. It cannot be just leisure tourism or business tourism. For example, in Kerala tourism there were only beaches, backwaters, hill stations and wellness. So we need to identify those who are essential for the growth of tourism and golf tourism seems to be that vehicle that can take it forward. It is bringing in a brilliant demography of individuals to experience tourism, for example, people who come to play golf spend more and stay longer The value of tourism is not a question of how many people can we attract or bring to our country, but the quality of the people who come,” he added.
The session concluded with a note of thanks from Board Member Deepali Shah Gandhi, GIA.
An exclusive question and answer session was then held with prominent golf course owners and real estate developers like Devang Shah, Managing Director of Kalhaar Blues & Greens, Ashwani Khurana, Founder and CEO of Karma Lakelands, Rajesh Gurumurthy, Senior Director and Head of Strategic Consulting of JLL and Anirudha Seolekar, Chairman of the Oxford Group. The session was moderated by Nandan Heblikar, consultant of Golf Drawings.
Subsequently, Andrew Harvey Johnston, Managing Director of Sentosa Golf Club, gave his opinion on the subject ‘Golf Course Design Trends and Sustainability, followed by Clinton Southern, Troon International Director of Construction and Agronomy, who presented on the “Power of Communication.”
Sandra Ruttle, Head of Real Estate and Business Planning at European Tour Destinations and Jeremy Slessor, Managing Director of European Tour Destinations. Golf Design participated in an engaging discussion on “Strategic Management of Golf Course Operations’, sharing their valuable experiences.
Between sessions, exclusive presentations were made by Gareth Knight, The Toro Company, Mohan Subramanian, Rain Bird Corporation, Kneale Diamond, Capillary Flow and many others.
During the session following lunch, the Golf & Turf Summit saw brainstorming discussions beginning with “Improving the Member Experience: Innovations in Club Amenities and Services.” The panel discussion was moderated by Indraneel Mujgule, Vice President, Poona Club Ltd.
In addition to the sessions and presentations, an exclusive fireside chat was held to discuss the real estate perspective. Moderated by Ravi Garyali, GIA; panelists Rohan Seolekar, CEO, OGR and Austin Roach, CMD, Clover Greens shared their insights.
The session on the theme “Maximizing collaboration: forging partnerships between tour operators, Golf The courses and hospitality providers were moderated by Karan Bindra, founder of K&A. Golffollowed by a discussion on the theme “Raising, modernizing and expanding Golf Footprint in India.
The summit ended with the announcement of a strategic collaboration between GIA And AMCin the august presence of Anit Mehrotra, vice-president, GIA; Bruce Williams, visiting professor, AMCMr. Seolekar, and digital presence of Brad Revill, BRT Agronomy.
On the second day, an 18-hole golf tournament will be organized for real estate developers, golf course owners and senior government officials. (ANI)
