defence

ARMY officers playing golf are considered snobs or nabobs and the game itself a bastion of the elite and part of snobbishness. It is not a part of the rigorous bodily activity required for physical fit officers and jawans.

Golf, therefore gets excluded from the games for the troops. Only some officers play golf and a negligible sprinkling of other ranks have taken to playing this game. There are no golf courses at the unit level.  This game associated with the lack of physical activity, snobbery and merry making has been denied its rightful due. In the minds of certain segment of the Army, there is a stigma attached as the golfing is considered with the misuse of man power, waste of time and resources for a handful of officers. They feel that playing golf by officers directly distracts troops from training activity and soldierly duties as a large number of them are employed in maintaining golf courses. Golf, a misunderstood game, therefore, needs to be projected in right perspective.

At the international level, Golf is one of the most popular and paying games. It combines mental concentration as well as relaxation and physical activity. It is one game that can be played by a person through his whole life. It carries minimum risk of injury while providing both mental and physical stimulation in full measure. The game can be played singly, with one partner, by a three-some or by a foursome. A Caddie is a help but is not a necessity. At the same time, it needs to be understood that even a Caddie goes through good physical activity as a ‘Helper’ to the player and use of a ‘Sahayak’ as a Caddie in the field areas where civilian Caddies are not available should be acceptable.

Golf does require a large area, which need regular maintenance but at the same time, it also adds to the ecological beauty of the general area. In the Army, most of the Golf Courses are part of the ecological up gradation, projects of the Cantonments/Military Stations. In the context, where on one end, Territorial Battalions are being raised to improve ecology; use of some manpower in rotation, for maintenance of Golf Courses should not come under undue criticism. Today, all Commanders are aware that use of manpower is to be replaced by use of mechanical plant & civil labour and are ensuring that only minimum service persons per golf course are used, that too in supervisory capacity.

To a soldier, Golf teaches so many things. It firstly teaches that synchronization of mind and limbs is essential to achieve best results. It also clearly brings out that use of brutal force will mess up shorts whereas rhythmic strokes will achieve the best results. Golf promises to remain part of a soldier’s life all through the service and more importantly after retirement when passing time and retaining physical fitness become major issues. Golf has the magical properties of Yoga wherein both mind and body get exercised and remain refreshed.

Another import aspect of Golf is that Army golfers mostly utilize afternoons to play when most of the people otherwise either sleep off or sit out for long hours in the office keeping the rest of the staff tied along, too. In the serving officers, golf also ensures the required time separation between the Commanders and staff. While the Commander plays golf, the staff gets much needed time to execute the orders. If this time separation is not there, the staff is bound to buckle under the pressure of the presence of the Commanders who will continue to burden the staff with more and more others while the staff is still struggling to implement earlier instructions.

The ground realities related to Golf are that it does not anyway adversely affect the training of personnel. Also there is no misuse of manpower as most of the work now being done on golf courses is by tractors, shrub masters, trolleys, mechanical grass cutters etc. and the utilization of civil labour. Use of military manpower is very minimal. Golf Courses greatly contribute towards ecological up gradation of the area. Instructions exist that service Caddies are not to be used and the golfers either pull heir own trolleys or hire civil caddies.