A swinging vacation

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Sharmila Nicollet tries her hand on the golf course

When John Updike proclaimed, “The golf swing is like a suitcase into which we are trying to pack one too many things,” he might have accidentally referred to today’s swing-happy, all-packed corporate golfers who travel across continents to play the game.

Be it the hilly terrain of Vietnam, or the pristine reaches of Pebble Beach in the US or the august setting of Scotland, golfers are quite the jetsetting lot. The preppy golfer of today has his caddie ready and his golf cart chugging over hills and mountains to conquer the world, while learning about life and himself. Which is probably why this game has such staunch followers.
St Andrews’s in Scotland and Pebble Beach are on pro-golfer Sharmila Nicolett’s to-do-list for 2013 if she does get time off while touring. Like her, there are many who would like to open their swing to the global greens. Corporate honcho B.V.K. Raju, owner and director of Q Mart, is a part of a motley group called the Happy Golferz from Hyderabad Golf Association, Golconda.
Just back from an inspiring trip to Chiang Mai in Thailand organised by Golf Tripz, where the only thing on agenda was to GOLF, he is rejuvenated, enthused and inspired by a game that many feel is similar to life. Raju has been golf-travelling for the past seven years, “This experience was of intense golf where we played six to seven rounds. There were 16 of us and it was a fantastic experience.”
Chaitanya Cotha, executive director C. Krishnaiah Chetty and Sons, is always on the lookout for greens and tries to juggle work to fit in a game of golf when travelling. “My best experience so far has been at St Andrews in Scotland, the oldest and esteemed golf courses in the world. It’s where Jack Nicholson and Tiger Woods have played. The overall experience, weather and environment was amazing, add a bit of culture like the cuisine — Haagis (black pudding) — it was wonderful, Florida too was great,” Chaitanya recalls.
He has not taken any packaged tours but feels that networking on the course is inspiring, “Golfing is about meeting people, networking — it is a wealth of experience. I met Paul Dolan, who’s now a good friend. Dolan recently organised a Round Table for CEOs from across the world to promote a healthy environment, and he has already pulled in people like Mukesh Ambani. That’s what business on the course can do.”
The towering lady known as a long hitter, golfing pro Sharmila Nicolett is busy preparing for the Indian Open. She feels that golfing vacations are becoming popular. She was a part of a clinic in China, “I went to China for an event where we shared experiences as pros, gave insights on the mental aspects of the game and helped the participants learn. There are many events where one can travel and play with a pro though pros hardly get the time. Pro Am also have many such packages, a few that also include spa sessions,” Sharmila adds.
Ad filmmaker Sudhir Makhija recently travelled to Vietnam to play golf and is a part of the Bengaluru group of golfers called Pin Seekers. These likeminded birdie seekers play a tournament every month and have two international outings every year. He along with many others prefers the natural courses like the ones in Ooty and Kody in India, apart from the ones at Coorg, Sri Lanka and of course Thailand. His recent Vietnam experience was wonderful as Ho Chi Minh city has some top of the line courses.
G. Ravindran, CEO & MD of SHRM India, which recently held an exclusive golf programme, Golf and I with top executives, took a golfing vacation to Nainital and Phuket recently.
Raju recalls, “We play 18 holes and then on the 19th hole everyone gets together to celebrate and enjoy the moment. At Myrtle Beach, over 3,000 golfers came together at the 19th hole and it was one helluva party. At Chiang Mai, the traditional Khum Khantoke dinner was memorable. The sit-down dinner with Burmese influences and food served on a platter with local dances, martial arts, etc was wonderful.” So there’s golf and some culture thrown in too.
Ravindran also speaks of the experience eloquently, “Another different take-away for leaders from golf is the power of positivity. Often while paying a round, the golfer has a bad shot, and senses a let-down. Good golfers look around, take in the fresh air, hear the wind whistling through the trees and remind themselves that they are doing something they love! Similarly, leaders should pause, motivate themselves, and enthuse their teams to believe in themselves to tackle any challenges that may come their way.”

Golf Tripz!
Be it a tour, a vacation or a clinic, there are oodles of websites and companies offering a “clubbing” of a different kind. College mates Ajit Mohandas and Madhav Misra are behind Golf Tripz, a company focusing solely on golf travel. Ajit brings a mechanical engineering and business background to team up with Misra’s XLRI and Coke experience in marketing and sales to the table. And being avid golfers, their company promises a jetsetting vacation, “Many travel agents have broadened their purview to include golf. Since we are golfers and also have the corporate background, we hope to give a wholesome experience.”
The company offers tours, clinics and corporate packages. “We recently held a Team-AM Golf Challenge outside India. We started with 60 golfers and ended with over 185 signing up at the Ballantines event. As golfers, we have first-hand experience, so we are clued in on the types of courses, degree of difficulty and the right places and weather to play golf. Since different golfers have different abilities, we are able to provide the right expertise,” explains Ajit. Almost 90 per cent of his company’s travels today are outbound.
And while the men golf, the women can play too. Ajit and Madhav recently organised a women’s golf trip to Thailand with well-known golfer Sanam Merchant at the helm. “We also encourage people to go with non-golfers — the family. And we have special packages that include — in Thailand we added Thai cooking classes, in Vietnam, there was an art and culture tour where one could lunch with an artist and learn about art in Vietnam,” Mohandas adds.
What these tours have brought about is a climate where golf reaches everyone. And helps players access splendid courses, “Getting to play in the best courses at affordable prices is great. And since golf is a game you play with yourself, it’s such a learning experience. Earlier there was a company in America which used to book for us but now with Golf Tripz, it’s so much easier. I’ve been to Vietnam, the Far East, Malaysia, Hua Hin, Pataya and my most cherished experience was at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina for the World Am Championships,” Raju adds.

Putt-ing leadership forward
There are various leadership clinics and workshops being held with golf at its foundation. ‘Golf & I’ was a recent leadership programme held by SHRM India to enable ‘learning and development.’ The programme saw 35 participants travel to Bengaluru and train under professional facilitators, and golfing professionals. The brain behind the venture, G. Ravindran, CEO & MD of SHRM India, said, “We need to constantly explore newer platforms for ‘learning’, especially with regards to adults and leaders. Using the outdoors and sports provides a ‘live’ platform where learning and development is different. Since the ‘I’ in golf is ever present, this programme focuses on working with the ‘I’ to develop the spirit of ‘ownership’… working to discover and explore the ‘self’… to develop the game, and the self.”
And which ever way the club swings, it’s the game’s similarity to life that has made this golf family travel far and wide. “Golfing is about teaching ethics and values of life. Like the ‘hook’ taught me so much about reactions and perspective,” adds Cotha.
Another take away for leaders from golf is the power of positivity that Ravindran elaborates on. “This game is much more than networking. It enables people to discover aspects of each other. These insights are critical for decision-making on whether I want to do business with these people or not (and not so much about cracking a deal). The game provides insights into the character of a person.”
Golf has certainly changed from a rich man’s sport to a not-so-rich man’s sport with tours, packages and workshops that not just hone that swing, but also work on your mental make-up. It will also be included in the 2016 Olympics, so all this practice will only make one perfect. Hole-in-one or not, everyone’s ‘putt’ their best foot forward!