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Over the last five years, something interesting has started happening in Indian golf. Various club-level golf leagues have begun emerging across the country. Among these, the Royal Calcutta Premier Golf League (RPGL) and the Delhi Golf Club League (DGCL) have clearly been the front runners.
Once these leagues began gaining momentum, other cities were quick to follow. Clubs in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and even Jaipur started experimenting with their own league formats.
And honestly, the game needed it!
For a sport that has traditionally been played as an individual pursuit, leagues have introduced something refreshing - team spirit, rivalry and a lot more energy around the golf course.
The RPGL run by Brandon deSouza and The DGCL run by Digraj Singh, quickly captured most of the spotlight. But several other cities have quietly built strong leagues of their own.
Take Chandigarh for example. The City Beautiful has seen a few successful seasons of its club league at the Chandigarh Golf Club. The league has generated plenty of buzz, both on and off the course, all in good spirit, no pun intended;). Following its success, Panchkula Golf Club launched a league of its own, drawing strong participation from members as well as golfers from neighbouring cities.
Further south, the Karnataka Golf Association runs its own league, and Hyderabad has also embraced the format. Across the country, leagues have quietly started sprouting up, some widely known, others thriving within their club ecosystems.
What these leagues have done, however, is quite remarkable!
They have created a new energy around club golf. Members who rarely played competitions are suddenly showing up week after week. The atmosphere in clubs has become electric. New friendships have formed, old ones have been reignited, and the social side of golf - the dinners, celebrations and banter has come alive again.
Today it’s common to see club golfers wearing team jerseys that resemble professional sports kits. Players are kitted out like athletes, and many prepare months in advance just to contribute to their teams during league season. It’s something traditional club tournaments rarely managed to create.
The format itself has also added to the excitement. Many leagues begin with multiple teams the DGCL, for example has nearly twenty - playing round robin matches before progressing into knockout stages. Traditional formats like Indi and Autopress are slowly taking a back seat as golfers embrace competitive matchplay.
And it isn’t just limited to club structures. Community-driven golf competitions are also emerging through Instagram pages and WhatsApp groups, where golfers are forming teams, organising matches and building their own competitive ecosystems.
Personally, I’m quite bullish about these formats.
Golf, in many ways, needed a twist. The sport not only needs to become more fun, it also needs to become faster. In today’s world, not everyone has the luxury of spending five or six hours on a round of golf.
Formats that encourage quicker, competitive and team-based play can make the game far more accessible. And that, in turn, can help bring more people into the sport. So far, these leagues have done exactly what golf in India needed. They’ve brought more people onto the course, created excitement within clubs, and made the game feel alive again.
And maybe that’s the biggest win of all.
For a sport that has often taken itself a little too seriously, golf leagues have reminded us of something simple- the game is supposed to be fun.
If these leagues continue to grow the way they are, they might end up doing something Indian golf has struggled with for years- bringing more people into the game and keeping them there.
And if that happens, club golf in India may never look the same again.
Does your city have a golf league yet?
Rahul Bajaj is a Class A golf coach, Asian Games medalist, sports presenter and the founder of Golf Garage.
