and you thought only the elite play golf

PATNA: You have to pay anythingbetween Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 per day to play golf at the Noida club orsomething between Rs 1,500 and Rs 3,000 per day at the posh Gurgaon club. Thefee increases on weekends in metros. In Patna Golf Club, however, non-memberscan play for only a sum of Rs 100 per day, which includes a day''s fee of acaddie.Cool cheap, isn''t it? "Yes, golf is no longer a game for theelite only," said Roshan Sharan, captain of the only golf club in Patna. The88-year-old club has in fact extended an open invitation to the school andcollege students of the city to play golf here. "We want to make the gamepopular," Sharan, a passionate golfer who has been the state''s Golfer of theYear for ten years, said. The award is given by the local golfers''association.The 18-hole course at the Patna Golf Club is consideredone of the best golf courses in the country. "Educational institutions candirectly contact us for sending their students to the club. We will give themlessons in the basics of the game," Sharan said.Incidentally, the only golf clubin the entire Buddhist tourist circuit in Bihar has a number of foreign visitorsas well. A host of Japanese pilgrims can be seen playing golf here during theirperiodic visits to Buddhist sites in the state.Established in 1916on a plot of 165 acres of land leased out by the then government of the provinceof Bihar and Orissa, the club has 600-odd members, including 200 permanent ones.A few years back, a move was initiated to terminate the lease, whichexpires in 2008, for converting the premises into a tiger safari park. "Thematter is pending in the high court," another golfer said.Confidentof a favourable verdict after all, club members are meanwhile busy makingpreparations for a national golf tournament to be held at the club from December1 to 5. Some top Asian golfers, including Jyoti Randhawa, JeevMilkha Singh and Arjun Atwal are expected to participate in the tournament,which is being revived here after a gap of three years.