National Handicap Service- A revolution sweeping the world of golf in India

India’s Shiv Kapur at the KLM Open

India currently has over 150,000 active golfers out of which 100,000 are members of golf clubs. As of today, India boasts of a little over 230 golf courses, of which approximately 200 are affiliated to the apex body of golf in India, the Indian Golf Union.

It’s quite amazing that less than 0.5% of Indians play golf and despite that Indian golfers are making serious headlines across the world. India’s Anirban Lahiri featured in the top 50 in the world rankings and has played in all major championships in the sport, and 17-year Kolkatan Viraj Madappa has represented India in amateur golf tournaments. The teenager is the first Indian to represent India in the prestigious Porter Cup held in the USA.

Most recently, we have seen young prodigy Shubham Jaglan, a 10-year old from a small town called Israna in Haryana, who has created a sensation by winning two world junior titles; and that too from very humble beginnings – he is the son a milkman. Another youngster inspiring everyone around him is 14-year old Ranveer Saini from Gurgaon, who is the first Indian golfer to participate in the Special Olympics World Games. In 2013, Singh won two gold medals at the Special Olympics Asia-Pacific Golf International in Macau.

These are certainly inspirational stories and as an avid golfer and lover of the game, I firmly believe India will witness plenty more of such stories. But there is cohesive work to be done by our sports bodies, corporates and government to boost this.

The infrastructure for youth to learn golf and hone their skills are slowly but steadily growing. Coaches are also certified through an official body and keen golfers have various grades of coaches to choose from. With centres like NCR & Bengaluru adding new courses and fast becoming the golf hubs in India with several driving ranges and teaching facilities for golf, we are seeing a steady rise in the quality of golfers taking advantage of these new opportunities.

However, India still has a long way to go in terms of building infrastructure for golf.

While there are several challenges for someone wanting to get inducted into the sport, one of the key deterrents remains the access to golf courses. Club Memberships are steep and not many pockets run that deep. While the inclination may be there, a person is deterred by the lack of opportunity to play in courses due to a lack of membership or lack of a golfing handicap (the essential index required by every golfer to play a round of golf at a course).

How does one get a golf handicap in India? Well, if you’re a member of a club, you simply start playing rounds (obviously after learning the game from a coach) and submit scorecards and voila! You have your handicap.

Now what happens if you are not a member of any club and have been learning the game at one of the driving ranges in your city, or for the more fortunate ones, if you were abroad? You want to play on a course in your city but they ask you for a valid handicap! It’s a chicken and egg situation. You can’t play unless you have a handicap, and you can’t have a handicap unless you play! Don’t worry, there is now a solution for you and thousands of aspiring golfers like you J

Indian Golf Union – National Handicap Service

Join the revolution

A revolutionary initiative that is gaining momentum and introduced by the Indian Golf Union called The National Handicap Service (NHS) is setting this right for Indian Golf. The NHS will ensure every golfer in India has a valid United States Golf Association (USGA) approved handicap, which is accepted worldwide.

In countries like the USA and UK, golfers have to automatically pay a nominal fee each year to ensure they keep a valid handicap. In India- we are simply not used to this. The NHS, however, will ensure that an accurate database of registered golfers with valid handicaps is created, making life easier for everyone.

With the NHS, an aspirational golfer and non-member of a club can earn a handicap by submitting a minimum of five 18-hole scores or ten 9-hole scores at any course in country using his NHS membership card and earn a handicap, ensuring that one no longer has to have a club membership to earn a handicap and play golf. The NHS handicap which is issued by the USGA is accepted across the world and a golfer holding the card will have a valid handicap to present to any golf club across the world.

Using technology to propel golfers

The NHS has already been adopted by several Golf Clubs in the country to get their existing members on the NHS system for ease of use, convenience, accuracy & transparency. In all NHS has already got over 2500 subscribers in less than 2 years of existence and numerous golfers are subscribing every day to ensure they obtain valid handicaps. NHS has a mobile app for android & iOs (download scoreplus) wherein you can enter your scores on mobile and submit for handicap calculation. You can also submit scores on the Igunhs website. It keeps a track of your scoring history and notes to allow you to monitor your progress and gives you a handicap update every fortnight. It’s a no brainer really! It makes it so easy for a golfer to refer to NHS for his handicap and calculate handicap for any course they play in the world. Also, gone are the days where you and your buddies are on the first tee and haggling over what handicap each one may be playing off. You can just look up a golfer’s handicap on NHS and tee it up!

How does one subscribe to NHS?

Logon to www.igunhs.com or www.halogolf.com and register yourself and pay the nominal fee. You will immediately receive your Global Handicap Index Number (GHIN) and can hit the course running.