Golf - - - - The BEST individual sport in the world

Golf - Its truly an awesome game. You need evrything from power to precision. I mean you got so many different shots to make. There are so many obstacles (if you call them so ) in form of sand bunkers , water hazards , roughs... etc.... The shots are never easy . You need different amount of power depending n where your ball is lying. This being the most beautiful (frustrating to some) part of the game - PLAY THE BALL AS IT LIES.

When i started writing on this topic , my purpose was just to write the rules... but now i think that if you are interested in the game, you wud be knowing the rules already . If you are not interested, you wont give a damn about it and if you want to learn it, there are many sites which can give you the playing rules. So my advice to all - Learn this game.. It is BEAUTIFUL.

Now, Why is golf not popular in India ?

Reasons -

1. Expensive - The game is darn expensive. A golf membership burns such a big hole in your pocket that a person will think a million times before entering this field , especially for Indians , which is said to be one of the most price conscious countries of the world. The equipment is also very expensive. It will set you back by such an obscene amount that is greater than the annual per capita of the country.

2. Lack of infrastructure - The infrastructure is also not in place. Lack of proper golf courses is inhibiting the popularization. Although , it can be because of dearth of funds but this can be a good tourist attraction. In foreign countries, golf courses are a norm. Most of the individuals play the game over there.

3. No World Class Player - Yes, i agree there are some pretty good players in India like Jyoti Randhawa, Jeev Milkha Singh, Shiv Kapur etc. but they are no big time PGA tour play ( for the laymen, its the circuit where the major players like Woods, Mickelson, Furyk, Els, Vijay Singh ( Not Indian, from Fiji ), Goosen kind of players play) . So until we have a player who represent the country at the very top level of the game , golf is unlikely to gain any popularity in our country.

4. Cricket - How can another sport be bad for other sport if they are not related with each other? The answer is - It happens only in India. Another example being the national sport of India - Hockey. look at its present condition. So, as long as cricket is there , it is very difficult for the kids to be attracted to golf. I am not saying you should ban cricket, But just saying that promote other sports apart from cricket at school level. My point is Indian kids are not offered choices. They are exposed to cricket only so they take it up. How many football , hockey , golf academies are there ? and compare this number to the number of cricket academies.

Improving the Situation

First of all, is it possible ? Of course it is. Look at USA , they have so many different sports all enjoying a great fan base. Basketball, IceHockey, Football( Rugby or American Football for us), Baseball, Motorsports, and ofcourse Golf. They all are superhits in the US. Yes , they have a very strong economy and a great deal of money to feed all these sports But so do we now. We have greater problems in proper allocation of funds and all due to corruption. So one way is to bring corporate culture and full transparency.

Rest later.....
gotta go... (something important came up so have to leave it incomplete)
Will complete tomoro.