In a bid to encourage the underprivileged young golfing caddies of different golf clubs of Assam to grow professionally into golfers, the Jorhat Gymkhana Club is preparing to host the inaugural All Assam Amateur Caddies Golf Tournament on June 9.
The Jorhat Gymkhana Club Golf Course is the second oldest golf course established outside the United Kingdom in 1876.
A member of the club said that Assam had two 18 holes and nearly 12 odd 9 holes golf courses dating to the colonial erase where golf is played regularly by the club members and the caddies are an integral part in the sport.
“Though all the clubs do their bit to encourage these caddies to adopt the game, till now there was no platform for these caddies to showcase their talent and get an opportunity to perform at higher levels. The purpose of this tournament is to provide that missing platform to these caddies, many of whom may have hidden talent,” he said.
The event will be organised in association with ONGC Assam Arakan Basin headquartered at Jorhat, Tea Vision (Kolkata) and Army’s 41 Sub Area, Jorhat.
About 50 caddies from Digboi, Doomdooma, Dibrugarh, Zaloni Club (Duliajan), Solmara (Tezpur), Biswanath, Seleng, Misa Club, Nagaon , Rhino Club (Guwahati) and Jorhat Gymkhana Club are expected to participate in this one day tourney at Jorhat Gymkhana Club Course.
There will be competitions in four categories – Gross, Nett, Stableford and Bogey – with handsome incentives for the winners and the runners-up in each category besides awarding a one-time stipend to all participants.
The member further said this is the first of its kind initiative to find and locate hidden talent amongst the budding golfers who would be encouraged to take up this game professionally.
“If proper support is made available to these talented caddies they may one day be able to represent the state and the country in various national and international forums including Olympics. Golf has been included as yet another sport in Olympics now,” he added.
It is a well-known fact that such talents, other than from this region, have been representing the state and the country in various professional and amateur golf tournaments all over the world and have excelled as well and with that view in mind, he said.
Tea Vision intends to invite four top golfers from this tournament to represent Assam in the Eastern / All India Caddies Competition to be held in Kolkata later this year.
Jorhat Gymkhana Club is also proposing to establish a Flood lit Driving Range, for all budding young golfers here and are looking for like-minded partners to sponsor this range.