Playing golf means playing at either the Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) or Tollygunge Club or on the premises at Fort William. The mindset has grown traditionally where the players, might be professional or amateur are from wealthy families who can afford Rs 1 crore yearly membership and spend time playing golf at RCGC.

Bengal Golf Association (BGA) has taken a mission to break the traditional mindset and introduce a significant window for golf lovers across the city and state. The association has already experimented by introducing 'Para-Golf' in Kolkata during the last Durga Puja festival and the initiative clicked.

BGA vice-president Dipak Barma, a player and associated with the BGA for almost the last 10 to 15 years explained while speaking to Parallel Sports, “Generally, each locality gets into a competition with other locality or Para with their respective Durga Puja Pandals, lightings and statues."

"So our motive was to get the people of those areas involved into a competition by playing golf. Then from multiple competitions, we can choose four top teams and finally conduct a final."

"In that case, the people of several localities can participate in the game to make it popularize among the people who cannot think of affording the cost of playing this game on the turfs at RCGC or Tollygunge Club. We also can approach sponsors to come forward once this Para-Golf starts becoming popular." 

BGA has already experimented by introducing the game during the last Durga Puja festival. "We selected a few Puja Pandals, laid mats on the plain surface in front of the Pandals, and provided sticks and balls for the participants. Significantly, got an expected response with almost four thousand people taking part in Para-Golf!" informed Barma. BGA will try to hold this Para-Golf this year, during the Durga-Puja festival.

Along with this interesting initiative, BGA has also been holding a caddy golf competition for the last two years to bring up potential caddy players in future. According to BGA vice-president, the participating caddies do not need to pay any entry fee to participate in the competition.

With more significance, the state association has also been running a coaching program where 70-80 students are learning the game under the tutelage of chief coach Indrajit Bhalotia. 

Barma asserted, “Once Bengal was the leader in golf in the national level competitions. Now, we find states like Delhi, and Chandigarh are well ahead of Bengal considering the performance in the nationals and other national-level competitions. Our mission is to bring the glory back."

One of the key reasons behind introducing Para-Golf is not only to popularize the game among the common people, but BGA has plans to scout potential young golfers from its Para-Golf competitions and put them in their coaching program. 

“Who cannot say another SSP Chawrasia, Feroze Ali Mollah can come up from the Para-golfers in the future?" concluded Barma.