Addicts golf, a slice of Chennai golfing history

CHENNAI: A couple of golfers from the Golfing Addicts Society of South India (GASS) left for Bali last week to play their competitive best on a different course.

For this group, known simply as Addicts to the golfing fraternity, playing international meets every summer is part of a hoary tradition – of Chennai’s historic contribution to golf in South India.

The Bali meet signals the robust revival of Addicts golf, and travelling for golf, which had seen a lull in the last couple of years for obvious reasons. An international meet apart, there are other events in the southern states that attract a number of players.

The recent one in Visakhapatnam saw 150 entries, I am told, and the one in Ooty likewise attracted a good number of golfers. With the events held over a few days, the first two days are given over to doubles and singles matches and there is plenty of competitive spirit underlying the camaraderie.

Misnomer: Given that all golfers are addicted to the sport – in varying degrees – one could laugh and call the Golfing Addicts Society of South India a misnomer. To a certain extent, that is correct.

Chennai golfers at the Addicts meet in Hyderabad in 1997

The Addicts came about because of a pressing need to sustain the ‘golfing culture of the 19th hole’ in the state. Tamil Nadu’s tryst with prohibition is often in the news in recent years for the perceived socio-economic health implications on the common man and the Treasury, but prohibition had been impacting many walks of life even in the past.

Paterson and Co: The Addicts dates back decades, to 1949, when prohibition was introduced in the state, and tipplers had to register themselves as addicts in order to gain access to liquor. Golfers, led by RC Paterson, mulled the implications of the dry state on golf.

Apprehensive of reduced footfalls on the 18 holes due to the fiat regarding the 19th, Paterson & Co. (pun intended, as Paterson co-founded the reputed stock brokering firm of the same name) decided to register themselves as ‘addicts’ and formed the Golfing Addicts Society of South India, with golf as the focal point.

The bye laws were framed quickly, but were kept simple, with a low handicap being the primary eligibility criterion. There was also the swearing of allegiance to the spirits. Both conditions have been relaxed over the years and it is not uncommon to see high handicappers and tee-totallers among this group of passionate golfers. One of the conditions is that new members should participate in a minimum number of outstation events during the first year of their entry.

What attracts a golfer to join this group is the opportunity to play in different venues with relative ease as the networking is already done. Clubs provide for and accommodate Addicts events even while drawing up their annual calendar of events.

‘Easy does it’: Originally, the Society did not envisage more than a hundred members. Today, Addicts in Chennai, Coimbatore, Ooty, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru, Mysuru, Coorg, Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam number over a thousand. Each centre nominates two Councils and the Captain of the Addicts leads the Managing Council. Lachu and Ishwar Achanta are the Councils from Chennai and former tells me that the guiding principle now is one of friendship and fellowship.

The motto of the Society, ‘Easy does it’, is strictly adhered to, on all 19 holes, he adds. Addicts play in all these centres, vying for the Cup and the contents inside!

Toasting the Queen/King? The Addicts Society has its own song, with typical self-deprecating British humour running through it.

“I am a member of the Addicts, Golf is my game,

I cannot chip, I cannot putt but I play it just the same,

I play not for the glory, I play not for the Cup, I play for what’s inside it,

I hope there’ll be enough. Easy does it, easy does it.”

At the annual dinner, this song would be sung after raising a toast to the society. Quaintly, the toast used to be raised to their Captain as well the Queen of the United Kingdom in the past. Like good wine, the Addicts group has aged well.

(The writer is an avid golfer)