Q & A with Mrs . Vini Mahajan IAS , President , Mohali Golf Range
One of India ’ s largest stand alone Golf learning and practice facilities cum driving range built as per international standards is the Mohali Golf Range ( MGR ) Situated in the the heart of Mohali , Punjab just a few kilometers from the Chandigarh International Airport , Aerocity , IT City and the upcoming Aerotroplis .
GolfPlus catches up with the President of the facility Mrs . Vini Mahajan ( IAS ), who in spite of not being a golfer is upbeat about the future of the game in the state . She holds the portfolio of the Additional Chief Secretary , Department of Housing and Urban Development cum Financial Commissioner ( Revenue ), Government of Punjab .
GP : Do you play Golf ? VM : My brush with golf was brief . My sister got a golf set for me and my husband , while we put it to use during our posting in Jalandhar , my concern n was always the paucity of time . Golf is addictive and once you get addicted , it is really hard to dissociate yourself . It could mean several hours a week or even there are people who spend several hours a day to put in a round . I didn ’ t think it appropriate for serving civil servants to pull out that much time . Maybe after retiring I might take up the game again with ample time on hand .
GP : Do you feel there is a lot of opportunity in Punjab from point of view of golf ? VM : Yes , while Golf was originally the game of relatively af�uent people , now we see people from different socio- economic backgrounds taking it up as a sport . While at present the game is really expensive , hopefully it will become affordable as more opportunities become available ailable . People from this region are doing well and it is only natural that they will take to the game ; this will also give an impetus to the others to start playing golf .
GP : Are there any plans for se�ng up of a golf course here ? VM : This Tri city region already has some very good golf courses Chandigarh ,
Panchkula , The Chandi Mandir Golf Course and so on . At the moment we have well functioning golf range . Right now we are not sure that we can come up with a location of a golf course , but this can change in the future . We have Golf courses in other parts of the state and it will surely grow over time . Ludhiana has a designer golf course developed by a private developer , Jalandhar has a golf course .
GP : What is your vision for the Mohali Golf Range ? VM : We see the MGR as an entry level facility , working towards introducing people to golf and teaching them the basics of the game . Once they learn they can go and play at the other facilities and come back to the range for practice and upgrading their skills . I think we do need institutions at different levels and MGR �ts in there . In the last one year Mohali Golf Range has been reaching out to women , kids , special kids and of course it has its regular set of golf enthusiasts coming in . I will be quite pleased if we were to achieve that kind of a distinction .
GP : When people learn golf on a driving range they need to go and play . Are there any a�lia�ons for other courses or ranges planned ? VM : We have been working on those things with Chandigarh and Panchkula . We certainly will be making more efforts in that direction . We would very much want to have linkages so that our members are able to play in different golf courses .