(L-R) R. Shyam Sunder – Rules Director, IGU, Jin Woo Kim – Assistant Director (Rules), R&A, SK Sharma – Hon Secretary, IGU, Roger Bathurst – Chairman, R&A Rules Committee, Brijender Singh – President, IGU, Henry Arabelo – Tournament Director, APGC, Eddy Putra – Former R&A Rules Committee advisory member, and Major General Bibhuti Bhushan – DG, IGU
In a significant step toward strengthening India’s golf infrastructure at the rules and officiating level, the Indian Golf Union (IGU), in collaboration with The R&A, conducted the country’s first-ever Level 3 Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar (TARS) from April 27-28 at the Jaypee Greens Golf & Spa Resort, in Greater Noida.
The two-day intensive course featured 49 Indian participants and one from Bangladesh, all of whom underwent training and assessment to qualify as top-tier rules officials under The R&A’s global standards. If all 49 Indian candidates successfully pass the exam, it would mark a nearly 200% increase in India’s Level 3-certified referees, currently numbered at 28.
In the curtain-raiser press conference held before the seminar, the Chairman of R&A’s Rules Committee, Roger Bathurst, spoke on how golf’s inclusion in the Olympic Games since 2016 has played a key role in broadening the sport’s reach and breaking its image as an elitist pursuit.
Roger Bathurst – Chairman, R&A Rules Committee
What Level 3 TARS covers:
The Level 3 TARS is the most advanced certification offered by The R&A under its Rules Education Programme. It is designed to prepare officials for tournament-level responsibilities such as:
- On-course rules application
- Dispute resolution
- Course marking and set-up
- Local rule interpretation
- Score recording
- Evacuation protocols
- Pace-of-play enforcement
- Suspension and resumption of play
The sessions were a mix of interactive lectures, practical demonstrations, and role-play simulations, all structured to simulate real tournament situations.
The President of the Indian Golf Union, Brijinder Singh, emphasised the IGU’s focus on capacity building within the sport and stressed that improved officiating would enhance the professionalism and credibility of domestic events and better prepare Indian venues to host international tournaments.
The successful hosting of Level 3 TARS in India marks a milestone in aligning Indian golf with global standards, not just in terms of player development, but also in the systems and personnel that govern the game.