Indonesian village scores victory in high-end golf

Seven-year-old Adi Subarga stands barefoot on the green as he prepares to putt. The boy smiles as the shining white ball slides smoothly on the manicured green and sinks inside the hole.

As he climbs down one of the sand traps of Indonesia's cool green Sawangan golf course, another aspiring player, Rudi, shouts to a group of oblivious boys riding well-worn bikes.

"Watch out for the ball," screams Rudi after he takes a hard swing.

Playing golf is how many village youngsters typically spend their free afternoons in Bojongsari, on the western outskirts of the capital Jakarta.

They lack fancy leather shoes and expensive sports clothing but their access to the course has made the village a breeding ground for Indonesia's best players.

Children as young as three from the village, perched at the back of the 18-hole course, enjoy the luxury of putting and chipping for free on the course built on village land, while regular guests pay skyrocketing prices.

"It's actually pretty quiet this afternoon, usually we have more crowds when the golf course is closed to the public on Monday," Rudi says, pointing to the kids wandering the greens with their golf clubs.

A VILLAGE OF TOP PLAYERS

During one amateur competition in Jakarta last month, Bojongsari players finished first and third while others jostled for a place in the top 10.

"They often top the list of winners of various national golf competitions," said Kusnan Ismukanto, secretary-general of Indonesia's Golf Association.

Another village golfer, Taufik, 17, happily declares that only one or two city players made it to the top 10.

"Our clothes and clubs may not be as sophisticated like them, but I guess we rule!" said Taufik. His skin, burned dark by the sun, was testimony to many hours of gruelling practice.

Like others in the village, he is out to emulate the fairy-tale success of Ma'an Nasim, 39, -- "Uncle Ma'an" -- Indonesia's top-ranked golf player.

Nasim, who played in the World Championship in Scotland in 1986, has become wealthy through the game, owning a number of properties in Jakarta.

Sitting inside a snazzy driving range near Jakarta, Nasim recalled how his childhood hobby turned into a professional career that has spanned more than two luminous decades and earned him countless national titles.

FORCED TO GIVE UP LAND

Nasim's family, like many other villagers in Bojongsari, was forced to give up land in exchange for paltry compensation before the developer built the 72 hectare golf course in the 1960s.

Every afternoon little Nasim used to peer through the bushes that separate the village and the course, watching the "city people" swinging their golf clubs.

Curious, Nasim often sneaked inside the course and tried playing golf himself with some old broken clubs he had mended with pieces of wood or bamboo. But it wasn't easy.

"The security guards used to run after me and the other kids," Nasim said.

"Finally after several years, the owner allowed us to practice golf for free every afternoon when the business is quiet," said Nasim.

Now, between tournaments, Nasim shares his winning tips with members of Indonesia's Who's Who at various upper crust courses.

Back in the village, the next generation of golfers take part in an annual 'big brother' golf competition of their own and travel together in buses and trains to attend outside tournaments in the hope of being the next champion.

STILL A CHALLENGE

Although Nasim showed the way and others from Bojongsari have since used their proximity to Sawangan to follow in his footsteps, success remains a challenge for the villagers even with the advantage of free practice on a top course.

Before achieving the kind of high-note success Nasim has, golf players in Indonesia must go through a long and expensive process of traveling from one low-budget tournament to another.

Although the government subsidises junior competition, most play at the amateur and professional levels entails high registration fees. And amateur competitions normally don't offer lucrative money prizes due to a lack of sponsors.

"Some of my friends' parents have to sell their belongings to keep their children playing at tournaments," Taufik said.

Back on the green on Sawangan, little Adi slipped on his rubber sandals and started walking on the fairway.

Asked what he wanted to be when he grows up, he said shyly, "I want to be rich like Uncle Ma'an"