Written by - Mansi Phore

 

 

Outsourcing your business/organization may bring a better opportunity in the golf industry and the initial step in Jammu and Kashmir has been taken by the J&K government considering to ‘outsource’ the famous ‘Royal Spring Golf Course’ through public-private-partnership mode. Here , it means that now the golf course and its management will be taken over on a PPP mode.

This decision has been informed in a letter from  the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, addressing the Secretary Royal Spring Golf Course Srinagar. The letter reads as “In this context, it is informed that some properties of JKTDC and Directorate of Tourism Jammu and Kashmir are proposed to be outsourced on a PPP mode. Royal Springs Golf Course (RSGC) has  been included in the list of Outsourcing along with 12 other assets in Jammu and Kashmir that have been identified for outsourcing including the Pahalgam Club, Ashoka Hotel in Jammu and the huts of the J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) at Patnitop.

 

 

Pahalgam Club(left)  Ashoka Hotel in Jammu(bottom right) and the huts of the J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) at Patnitop.

 

 

The letter also proposed a request to provide certain information for further necessary actions. It states,

• With regard to the land use plan, details sought to include the total plot area along with the following breakup;
• an area used for the golf course and ancillary facilities and;
• a surplus area available for fresh development.

 

Title deed on land to understand land ownership along with the following breakup: 

•  sire of Revenue land; the size of Private land (if any)
•  size of forest land (if any). 
•  Copies of the layout in digital format and geo-coordinates of the site boundary are available and site plan demarcating the boundaries and access roads.

 

With regard to details of the property, the details have been sought on

• ownership of the golf course —State Govt. Details of the golf course design — any named designer. 
• Facilities available on site, practice range, pro shop and training facilities; cafeteria/ restaurant and clubhouse capacity; ancillary sporting facilities like swimming pool, billiards, tennis, squash etc.
• Provision for accommodation inside the golf course and parking space available and any other commercial facilities within the golf course. Membership of any golf associations like the Indian Golf Union, PGA etc. 
• Size of the golf course highlighting its capacity (golf holes) etc.

 

Details are also sought on Past Performance Data -

 

• Property Specific that includes financial statements of the last five years including segmental revenues (like revenue from Membership Fee, F&B Revenues etc.). 
• Details of other revenues include revenues from a golf cart and caddie, Green fees, etc., annual membership fees and the number of active members, and the classification of various active memberships (international, domestic, tourists).
• That also includes the number of tourists held annually over the last five years and expenses details of the last five years concerning various heads of maintenance and operations. 
• Details of CAPEX incurred in the past five years towards development and upgrading the golf course and details of such upgrades and re-development/renovation are to be provided for future forecasting.

 

 

Opposition and Criticism

 

 

Mehbooba Mufti criticised government on outsourcing Royal Spring Golf Course 

 

 

Additionally, any decision taken by the government also brings a lots of criticism with it and the same has been done with this decision of outsourcing, as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti commented, If the present administration finds its maintenance difficult “because of its inherent inefficiency and agenda”, it should focus on improving the organization running golf courses and hire experts from anywhere. 

 

Outsourcing- a paradigm shift in the golf industry. 

When it comes to outsourcing, we all think of experts. This term hereby describes when somewhen hires any organization/individual to be responsible for a planned or existing activity to be carried out in a well organized manner and if any organization takes this step, then ultimately their main motive is to improve the quality of their golf course in consideration of golfers visiting the course, F&B, P&L statements, pro-shops, greens and fairways. 

Golf clubs, both public and private, are part of the leisure and recreation industry. Success depends on maintaining the high level of customer service expected by golfers. Customer retention is critical to a golf club’s bottom line. If the golfers are satisfied with their experience at the golf facility, they will keep coming back. You want your customers to play more often and spend more money each time they visit. Hence, there are many organizations who take up the responsibility of managing the golf course either on lease or as a consultant. 4moles.com is among them who has expertise in golf technology, human resource and is among the leading service providers in the golf industry. 

 

About Royal Springs Golf Course

Kashmir being one of the oldest golfing destinations in the whole Arabian Peninsula and South Asia, has always attracted tourists to witness its beauty. One of the biggest and most gorgeous golf courses in Asia, the 300-acre Royal Springs Golf Course is renowned for its size and beauty.

 

Its layout was designed and created by a well-known American golf course designer, Robert Trent Jones Jr. Dal Lake surrounds the course, which is situated in a really picturesque and tranquil area for golfers to enjoy. The course is framed by the Zabarwan mountain range.  The clubhouse is built with traditional Kashmiri architecture that provides breathtaking views of the golf course and the mountains in the area. This course became playable in 2001. 

 

Kashmir's famed Royal Springs Golf Course

 

It is currently managed by Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, as a quasi-government institution.