For busy golfers, help is only a chip away

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta

For those businesspeople wanting to learn how to play golf but are trapped behind an office desk, the time or place no longer needs to be a problem. Executives working in busy Jakarta can practice at nearby golf clubs or driving ranges after office hours.

Golf-driving ranges or schools can be found in almost every part of the city.

No less then 15 incredible championship golf courses are available in the capital, with several designed by the world's top authorities, such as Robert Trent Jr., Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer.

This number does not include the dozens of other courses out in the surrounding areas of Tangerang, Bogor and Bekasi. With golfing becoming increasingly popular, especially among business and executive circles, more new driving range schools have been set up to attract prospective players, such as the ones at Mega Mall Pluit in North Jakarta and Kuningan in South Jakarta.

A growing interest in golf led to a boom in the golf business in Indonesia in the 1990s, spawning driving range facilities and short-time courses.

Strategically located driving ranges, such as the Senayan Golf Driving Range, Prestasi Golf Driving Range in front of the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX), the Pondok Indah Golf and Country Club, Pantai Indah Kapuk Golf Course and Kemayoran Golf Course, are busy during the afternoon with prospective golf players playing the sport for one hour after office hours.

Other golf driving ranges and schools, such as the Kemang Golf Driving Range, Bumi Serpong Dami Indah (BSD) Golf Course and Gading Raya Padang Golf and Club are also popular among executives working in surrounding buildings, including Japanese, South Korean and Chinese expatriates.

The rates range from Rp 15,000 to Rp 25,000 (less than US$3) for 100 balls. The Senayan Driving Range has always been packed with golf enthusiasts after office hours, due to its convenient and strategic location.

For 100 balls, the range charges Rp 25,000 in the afternoon and Rp 30,000 after 3 p.m. The range also provides golf instructors. The instructor charges Rp 75,000 per hour.

Golf schools offer course packages for beginners or those who want to develop their skills in the sport. Students include those from Japan, Korea and China.

The rates for packages vary, depending on the golf course. They range from Rp 750,000 to Rp 900,000. This includes the fees for the instructor, driving ball, playing on the course, a program book and a t-shirt. Golf packages at a cheaper rate usually exclude the instruction fee.

The cost for instruction is usually based on negotiations between the player and the instructor. The going price is about Rp 100,000 for 45 minutes.

Almost all the courses provide rental equipment. A set of clubs can be used for Rp 80,000 and for those who wish to wear special shoes for the game, they can rent a pair on the course for Rp 20,000.

At Gading Raya Padang Golf and Club, you can choose which program best suits your needs, whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced player, with instructions given by a senior golf professional, who is helped by three assistants.

"Prospective players are not only those from Indonesia but also abroad," said the course's general manager, Simon Subiyanto.

Simon said the golf driving range has the most strategic location in West Java. Gading Raya is situated between Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD), Lippo Karawaci, Modern Land and Tangerang.

To take advantage of the growing interest in golf, Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) Golf Course will focus its programs on young people aged six and up.

With its "Junior Activity Program" to be launched in August of this year, BSD Golf Course wants to motivate children and teenagers to play golf and to "encourage those that demonstrate the talent and skill to make higher achievements in golf as a sort of prestigious sport," said Mira Magnolia, the sale and marketing manager of BSD Golf Course.

"The program serves as the embryo for the birth of talented and skilled golf players who can join a competition not only at the national level, but also the international," she said.

She said to achieve this goal, the golf course regularly holds junior golf competitions at the domestic level. "We just held a golf competition at the ASEAN level, and next year we plan to hold another contest at the Asia-Pacific level," she said.

At BSD Golf Course, the rate for the public is set at Rp 250,000 per month, Rp 100,000 for members and Rp 150,000 for the children of members. The lessons include an introduction to using golf equipment, the facilities, how to swing, putt, follow through on shots, pitch and so forth. "Lessons will not only include techniques, but also golf ethics," she said.

Not all golf schools offer the same special course packages, but they provide beginners with facilities, such as a tee box with staff members, who, on request, are ready to provide step-by-step guidance. "We do not have a golf clinic, but our staff members will readily assist beginners in playing golf, such as how to hold the club and tee off correctly. They do not start playing real golf on the course until they learn how to tee off well," Harry Basuki, the marketing manager of Esmeralda Golf & Country Club.

The club is among the few that provides a putting program because "our driving range school is part of the golf course," he said, adding that golf driving range schools that do not belong to a golf course have no putting equipment.

The driving range has eight holes. "With the putting program, beginners can have the experience of playing on a real golf course," he said.

The school does not set a price for staff members who provide guidance to the beginners. Like other golf courses, the school charges for the balls that players tee off with. The school charges Rp 15,000 for 50 balls and Rp 20,000 for 100 balls.

If you do not have clubs or shoes, the course offers equipment for rent. One set of clubs can be rented for Rp 80,000 and a pair of shoes goes for Rp 19,000.

Facilities at Gading Raya Padang Golf & Club include golf carts, male and female caddies, massage, saunas, a proshop, lockers, golf rental equipment, golf pros, chauffeuring, a restaurant, a bar, a practice green, a banquet room with a maximum capacity of 300 guests, a VIP room, fitness, a Kids Club, tennis and a swimming pool. Green fees are set at Rp 165,000 if you are accompanied by a member on the weekdays and Rp 350,000 on weekends or holidays.

You can choose the golf driving range school, depending on where you live or work. But when you play golf on any course, no matter what level you are at, don't forget to pay your caddy a tip.

A caddy is always at your service during the game, not only at the big events. There is no fixed rate for caddy service fees and the amount depends on which golf course you play on. Caddy fees range from Rp 15,000 to Rp 50,000, depending on which courses you play on. The fee is usually paid directly to the caddy.