Enjoying your golf? Just spare a thought of many of those who make it enjoyable for you. Your caddy, for instance. Just think about him and whether he is able to make ends meet.

Let me tell you for a fact that most of the caddies in Karachi or elsewhere in Pakistan live below the poverty line. They are among the lowest paid people even though they are attached to a sport that is supposed to be played by the high and mighty of the society. Golf coaches fare a little better but just like the caddies they struggle to make ends meet.

It is a sad story and I blame our country’s weak sports system which fails to keep a check on the people at the helm of the game.

I blame the national golf federation and various provincial associations for failing to find ways and means to make things better for the people whose existence is essential for the very survival of the game in Pakistan.

I blame the corporate sector for its failure to back sports like golf. We keep seeing top executives of banks and other major companies at the various golf courses and they keep telling us that they don’t have enough budgets for sports. But at the same time they continue to pump more and more money into cricket.

I blame the government over its failure to play its role in the betterment of the country’s golf community.

And last but not the least I blame an individual golfer like you, who has the passion for the game but almost always falls short of doing something for the people whose livelihood is attached to it. Don’t get me wrong. I know that there are individuals who generously support golfers and caddies but unfortunately they are very few, two percent at the most. Is that enough? I don’t think so.

It is because of the collective apathy of our government, corporate sector, Pakistan Golf Federation (PGF), the various associations and influential yet inactive individuals that the game of golf, which should have been flourishing in Pakistan, continues to be counted among minor sports. Its growth remains stunted and the end result is that the people who rely on the sport to earn their bread and butter remain poor, dirt poor. The average monthly earning for a caddy in Pakistan is barely Rs15,000. Is it possible for a person to raise kids and give them a decent education from such meagre resources?

That’s the reason why I feel depressed when I see the young generation of caddies and coaches working long and working hard to gain experience and expertise blissfully unaware of the fact that they are signing a lifetime contract with poverty and discontent.

And the worst part is that Pakistan is perhaps one of the few places on earth with such a pessimistic future for caddies and golf coaches.

Last week, an Indian coach visited Karachi on a private visit. It’s not that he was the most famous coach from the other side of the border. But I know for sure that many of the city’s amateur golfers paid him US$300 per hour, looking to improve their game. The Indian coach made more money in two hours than I make in a month!

I’m not against foreign coaches coming to Pakistan or local golfers taking help from them. I’m just saying that why can’t you give equal respect to home grown coaches. Just because we have spent more than 30 years under the sun, first learning golf and then teaching it doesn’t make us useless.

I believe that it is time that this indifference towards local talent came to an end. Also this indifference towards the plight of caddies and other lower staff attached to the game should also cease. And the only way it can be done is if sincere and honest people, who love this great game, will come forward and start playing their role. I hope that such a day will come soon.

I see a ray of hope whenever I go and visit the Islamabad Golf Club. There, Zahid Arbab Khan has helped initiate the culture of employing club coaches, pros and caddies for various jobs that involve the operations of the facility. That’s a great step and has earned him enormous respect from pros, coaches and caddies alike. I’ve seen them coming to Zahid’s office all the time to share their ideas and give suggestions. It’s a heartening sight. And it’s hardly surprising that it is the Islamabad Golf Club that has produced champions golfers like Shabbir Iqbal and Muhammad Munir.