Pune : In a landmark philanthropic initiative bridging professional golf and grassroots social upliftment, ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC\u2014the current No. 1 ranked team in the Indo-Golf Premier League (IGPL)\u2014has partnered with The Poona Club Ltd. to host the Caddie Welfare Golf Championship 2026 on August 22 and 23 at The Poona Club Golf Course.<\/p>\n
The two-day event features top-tier professional coaching, a junior training clinic, and a 200-player pro-am charity tournament dedicated to funding the comprehensive education of caddies’ children through charity partner Mudita Foundation.<\/p>\n
Pro Stars Host Junior Clinic Ahead of 200-Player Scramble<\/p>\n
The event commenced on Saturday with ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC deploying its entire professional roster to lead a specialised coaching clinic for junior golfers and club members.<\/p>\n
The clinic was headed by:<\/p>\n
– Udayan Mane \u2013 Olympian golfer<\/p>\n
– Aman Raj \u2013 Two-time IGPL leg champion- Aadil Bedi \u2013 Asian Tour professional- Tushar Pannu \u2013 Breakout talent<\/p>\n
The main tournament takes place on Sunday, August 23, featuring 200 golfers competing in a team scramble format. Each squad comprises three amateurs and one professional, completed by a single-handicapper or caddie professional, ensuring every tee-off actively contributes to the caddie welfare initiative.<\/p>\n
Comprehensive Education to Transform 80 Families<\/p>\n
Addressing a joint press conference at The Poona Club Golf Course, organisers and team officials detailed the core mission of the championship: securing long-term educational sponsorship for approximately 80 children of caddies.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the briefing, Rajiv Datar, professional golfer and CEO of ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC, emphasised that corporate social responsibility must deliver enduring impact:<\/p>\n
“Through this event, we are supporting close to 80 children of caddies for their education through the Mudita Foundation. Hopefully, this tournament will grow from strength to strength, and we will support them all the way through college. Furthermore, we are replicating this model in Mumbai at the Chembur Golf Club on November 6.”<\/p>\n
Indraneel Mujgule, Vice President and Golf Coordinator of The Poona Club, highlighted how the initiative moves beyond traditional, temporary aid:<\/p>\n
“Golf is often perceived as exclusive, but we consistently work for everyone in our community. We provide our staff and caddies with facilities, meals, financial literacy via FICCI FLO, and de-addiction programs. However, this initiative led by Rajiv Datar and ATRI GC is transformative because it focuses on higher education\u2014whether schooling, engineering, or medicine. Over the next 10 to 15 years, this will fundamentally uplift these families.”<\/p>\n
Gaurav Gadhoke, President of The Poona Club Ltd., said the initiative reflected the club’s commitment to making golf more inclusive and creating long-term opportunities for caddie families.<\/p>\n
“The Poona Club has always believed that golf should not only be about competition, but also about building a stronger and more inclusive community. Caddies are an indispensable part of the sport and have supported generations of golfers. Through this championship, we want to ensure that their children get opportunities that can change the course of their lives. Our partnership with ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC and the Mudita Foundation is a meaningful step towards creating a sustainable education support system for caddie families. We hope this initiative becomes a long-term movement across golf clubs in India.”<\/p>\n
Steering Youth Away from Crime and Towards Opportunity<\/p>\n
Ikram Khan, Advisor to the Golf Sub-Committee (GSC) & Caddies Welfare and a central figure behind the initiative, shared the poignant backstory that led to creating the education fund:<\/p>\n
“We noticed underage kids dropping out of school to seek odd jobs. Since we have a strict policy not allowing anyone under 18 to work here, several idle youngsters unfortunately fell into bad company, substance abuse, and juvenile delinquency. The local police alerted us after some boys were caught robbing houses, and we had to step in.<\/p>\n
That was the turning point. Together with Indraneel, Rajiv, and Jay Shirke, we realised that the only permanent way to prevent crime and protect these families is through education. By introducing them to golf and ensuring their schooling, their entire outlook on life changes.”<\/p>\n
Leadership Voices on Community Impact<\/p>\n
Explaining the team’s total commitment, Rishabh Kishore, Co-Owner of ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC, noted:<\/p>\n
“Our caddies carry more than our bags; they carry the game itself, often without recognition. Partnering with The Poona Club is our way of putting belief into action, with all four of our players on the ground. Together with our partners, our goal is to build this into a sustainable annual platform where the entire golfing community can collectively give back to those who give so much to the game.”<\/p>\n
Smruti Kishore, Co-Owner of ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC, added:”Our family and business motto is to give back. To grow the sport of golf, the foundation must be strong. Caddies are integral to the ecosystem, and empowering their children with a brighter future through education is the true way forward.”<\/p>\n
Applauding the collaboration, Uttam Singh Mundy, CEO of IGPL, stated:<\/p>\n
“Initiatives like the Caddie Welfare Golf Championship reflect exactly what we want the IGPL ecosystem to stand for\u2014professional golf that lifts the entire community around it. Having ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC front this cause alongside The Poona Club sends a strong message about the league’s values.”<\/p>\n
Building a Sustainable Annual Model<\/p>\n
The Poona Club and ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC aim to make the Caddie Welfare Championship a recurring fixture across Indian golf circuits, with the next leg scheduled at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club (Chembur) in November 2026. Club President Gaurav Gadhoke and Golf Captain Jay Shirke were also acknowledged for their instrumental leadership in facilitating the tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pune : In a landmark philanthropic initiative bridging professional golf and grassroots social upliftment, ATRI Mumbai Garudas GC\u2014the current No. 1 ranked team in the Indo-Golf Premier League (IGPL)\u2014has partnered with The Poona Club Ltd. to host the Caddie Welfare Golf Championship 2026 on August 22 and 23 at The Poona Club Golf Course. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25295,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pune","category-bs-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25296,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25294\/revisions\/25296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpowerandvoice.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}