How a rendezvous over coffee led to the start of an iconic club in Dubai

When a few friends got together over a cup of freshly brewed cappuccino at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club in 1995 to talk about their common passion for golf, little did they know they were on to what would be a life-changing experience.

Fast forward to the present day and the Indian Golfers Society (IGS), which was born out of that meeting, would become one of the mainstays of the social game in the UAE that is now regarded as one of the oldest continuously running golf societies in the UAE.

In the early days, it consisted of just a handful of Dubai Creek members playing a few rounds of golf, but it has since grown immensely alongside the development of the game in the UAE as well as through local businesses coming on board as partners and sponsors.

The Indian Golfers Society now boasts a 165-strong membership and is confronted with the current challenges of not being able to welcome more members due to the limitation on the numbers permitted to play in golf events.

Most of the Indian Golf Society members are also members of golf clubs with the organisation being run by a committee.

The long-standing committee members include Joseph Andrade, Dev Kurup, Farad Lakdawala, Ishu Rupani and Ashok Sindhu.

A new working committee of ‘youngsters’, which consists of Ashok Sindhu, Kunal Seth, Anthony Louis and Arjun Khanna, was established last year to encourage new ideas.

One of the first projects to be brought in by the working committee is the Young Indians tournament for members under 50’s, to create some extra interest.

Chris May, CEO of Dubai Golf, commenting on the Indian Golfers Society of Dubai, and its activities: “It is inspiring to see how the Indian Golfers Society of Dubai has grown and developed over the years from relatively small and humble beginnings at the Creek almost 30 years ago to become such an active and popular organisation - now the largest golf society in the region.

"Dubai Golf has always been proud to support the IGS and will continue to do so for many years to come. We would like to congratulate all those who have given their time and effort to make the IGS what it has become, providing fun, golf, competition and above all a wonderful social environment which is enjoyed by so many.

"I look forward to seeing the IGS go on to further success and fun in golf in the future," concluded May.

Meanwhile, the Indian Golfers Society of Dubai has announced its calendar of events for the forthcoming 2023-2024 season.

There will be five events this season which will be hosted at the leading golf clubs in the UAE.

These events will be styled as the ‘Race to Strathisla’, which is the Scottish home of Pernod Ricard, one of the main patrons of the society.

From the four initial events, the top 40 players in the Order of Merit will participate in the UAE Grand Final. The winning players from Divisions A and B will go through an all-expenses paid trip to play the best courses in Scotland.

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