Ravibir returns as Chandigarh golf club president, team bags 11 seats

In 2017, Grewal defeated Ravinder Singh Virk by a margin of 94 votes, securing 589 votes against Virk’s 495 to retain his post. In 2021, Grewal was elected unopposed. An alumnus of Doon School, Dehradun, Grewal has been a pioneer of horticulture in Punjab and runs an IT business. Grewal was first elected as treasurer of the club in 2011, later becoming vice-president in 2016, followed by being the active president after the demise of then club president IPS Mann.

As the acting president in 2016, Grewal had overseen an ESI case worth Rs 13.59 lakhs and income tax appeals and refunds of Rs 24 lakh and Rs 19 lakh in 2010 and 2011, getting sorted. In 2017, Grewal had worked on getting the long-pending lease of the club, which ended in 2008, to a new lease of 33 years with the UT Administration. Recently, the club received notices from the UT Administration over some irregular construction, and Grewal was of the view that such incidents needed to be resolved.

“We are a professional club and need to work professionally with the UT Administration. Once those issues are resolved, the club management can always work on other aspects of the club. Tournaments need to be restructured to ensure minimum disruption for playing members, and a fair handicap system needs to be put in place. Like we focused on junior golfers and lady golfers, our endeavor will be the same during this term. In the past, we had bought equipment like TORO ground master 3200D-2 WD to make the golf course at par with other golf courses in India, and our aim will be to make the course a top priority,” said Grewal.

Incidentally, Grewal’s second term saw the return of PGTI tournaments at the 7,202-yard-long course. While Grewal talked about keeping the balance between tournaments and playing rights of 1800 odd members, he also sounded optimistic about the club hosting bigger tournaments.

“During my last term, we came close to hosting an Asian Tour event. Many international golfers hone their skills at the course here, and our aim is to bring an international event here which the members can also enjoy watching and be proud of,” said Grewal.

A total of 1183 members cast their votes, of which four votes were declared invalid by returning officer Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu. Among the members who voted on Sunday were international golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, Arjuna awardee golfer Harmeet Kahlon, and PGTI CEO Uttam Singh Mundy.

Eleven members from the newly elected Chandigarh Golf Club president Ravibir Singh Grewal’s panel have been selected for the 13-member managing committee of the club, including the president. The results were announced on Monday evening. Kulbir Singh Brar bagged 687 votes, while Major Rajinder Singh Virk (Retd) from Birinder Singh Gill’s panel got 677 votes. Rohit Singh Dagar got 673 votes, followed by Gurimran Singh Sibia with 652 votes, Gurpreet Singh Bakshi with 598 votes, Sanjeev Verma with 575 votes, Gursimrat Singh Jawandha with 558 votes, and SPS Ghai from Birinder Singh Gill’s panel received 555 votes. Dr. Agnish Rajesh got 551 votes, followed by Mrs. Vijay Wadhawan with 521 votes, HS Kang with 510 votes, and Dr. Raman Abrol with 504 votes. Grewal will announce the designations of the elected managing committee members on Tuesday.