New Delhi, 17 Oct 2026: As India builds towards hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the 2036 Olympics, natural turf is emerging as a key piece of sporting infrastructure. The Golf Course Superintendents & Managers Association of India (GCS&MAI) will bring together leading turf, irrigation, agronomy and machinery experts from India, the UK, the USA and Japan at Noida Golf Course on October 24 for a technical programme on water-efficient irrigation, seasonal turf management and the mechanisation of course maintenance in Indian conditions.
The programme comes as turf management becomes a specialised, technology-led profession in India and one of the most promising growth markets for the global turf industry. When Ahmedabad was confirmed last November as host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, it marked another step towards the Olympics in 2036. Behind every stadium, academy and golf course on that journey is the natural grass the games are played on.
Market momentum India is projected to be the fastest-growing major market for sports turf sensors over the next decade, expanding at 13.2 per cent a year until 2036. That is ahead of China and well above the global rate of 10.3 per cent, according to Future Market Insights. The wider global turf protection market, led by companies such as Syngenta, Bayer, BASF and Corteva, was worth USD 6.38 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 10.58 billion by 2034, according to Fortune Business Insights. North America accounts for nearly 40 per cent of that market today, while India, at about USD 180 million, is at an early stage with significant room to grow.
Global players are already acting on that potential. This month’s USD 4 million DP World India Championship at Delhi Golf Club, the largest prize fund the DP World Tour has offered for an event in India, has drawn a field that includes Rory McIlroy and defending champion Tommy Fleetwood. In cricket, UK-based SIS Grass has invested in bringing its hybrid-pitch technology to India after the International Cricket Council allowed hybrid surfaces in T20 and one-day matches, beginning with the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.
Policy support The Union Cabinet has approved a combined outlay of ₹36,441 crore for an expanded Khelo India scheme and support for national sports federations from 2026-27 to 2030-31. In April, at the launch of the Indian Golf Premier League, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said golf tourism “attracts high-value visitors and drives long-term economic growth”, and that India has the potential to emerge as a leading destination in the segment. The league has committed to mobilising USD 2 billion for golf tourism infrastructure, including in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
Climate and water: India as a proving ground India’s climate is also turning the country into a proving ground for smarter turf care. Courses and grounds here have to stay at their best through summer heat that touched 47.2 degrees Celsius in Vidarbha this May, a cold northern winter and the transition weeks in between. The national water picture is improving: India’s overall stage of groundwater extraction has eased from 63.33 per cent in 2017 to 60.63 per cent, the government told Parliament in July. With 730 of 6,762 assessment units still classed as over-exploited, though, water efficiency remains a priority for every turf manager.
This is speeding up the shift to precision irrigation, soil-moisture monitoring, heat-tolerant grass varieties and multi-function machines that do more with smaller crews. These are the same technologies that are driving the sensor and turf protection markets worldwide.
Industry voices “India will soon host the world’s athletes and golfers on its own grass, and that grass performs in conditions few other countries face,” said Wg. Cdr. Arun K. Singh, President of the Golf Course Superintendents & Managers Association of India (GCS&MAI). “Global companies clearly see India’s potential. Our opportunity is to build Indian expertise that meets world standards with less water and at lower cost. If we get this right, India will not just import turf knowledge. It will set the benchmark for managing grass in a hotter, drier world.”
Vinod Goyal, Secretary General of GCS&MAI, described turf as an economic asset. “A well-kept course or sports ground brings tournaments, tourists, property value and jobs, and it deserves to be managed like any other infrastructure,” he said. “Turf care in India is moving from experience to diagnosis. Our superintendents are using soil science, grass selection and the right machinery to solve problems at the root, and that saves both water and money.”
As India prepares to welcome the world to its stadiums and fairways, the grass beneath them is set to become one of the quiet success stories of its sporting growth, built on science, skilled people and smarter use of every drop of water.
Event details (Notes to Editors)
·What: GCS&MAI technical programme on water-efficient irrigation, seasonal turf management and mechanisation of course maintenance
·When: October 24, 2026
·Where: Noida Golf Course
·Who: Turf, irrigation, agronomy and machinery experts from India, the UK, the USA and Japan
