Golf is known for the large amounts of prize money involved, and high rollers at work are now making their vacations a high stakes game combining gambling and golf. Such games, often dubbed poker golf, lead to potential payouts greater than most PGA tour events, and it’s coming from the competitors' own wallets -- not corporate sponsors. Golfers play high stakes and they like to take their chances against other golfers or play individually with bets placed on every shot.

Despite the recession and the European crisis, casinos have funded a golf boom unlike any seen before. In the United States, where the growth of public golf courses has remained stagnant and more private courses are closing rather than opening, casino golf construction has exploded. Fortunately for golf fans, this high quantity is also high quality because casinos use their income streams to get top designers create dream-like golf courses.

The maximum number of casino golf courses can be found in the US, where predictably, Las Vegas dominates the list of top five such courses and resorts in the country. In recent rankings, Shadow Creek MGM Mirage and Cascata Harrah’s from Vegas stand at number one and three positions respectively; while The Wilderness at Fortune Bay in Tower (Minnesota), Barona Creek Golf Club, Barona Valley in San Diego and Circling Raven Golf Club, Coeur d’Alene Casino in Worley complete the rest of the top list.

But other countries are not far behind. While it is not possible to find a golf-and-gamble option in India where casinos are banned, its giant neighbour China shows the way with its expanding arsenal of high-end facilities. Caesar’s Golf Macau in Macau is among the best in Asia, which besides offering a great casino experience, has a redesigned par-72 golf course and Asia’s first Butch Harmon School of Golf. Butch Harman was voted the number one American golf instructor by Golf Digest in 2009. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has the Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort to show off among other places. The Intercontinental Burswood Resort in Perth, Australia, is perhaps one of the most popular holiday destinations for gambling golfers. The Moon Palace Casino, Golf and Spa in Greece is the pride of Europe as far facilities for poker golf are concerned.

Played in plush natural green landscape, the game of golf can be said to have a spiritual edge to it; and with the crass materialism of a casino combined, it creates a heady and irresistible high for any golfer. It is no surprise therefore that facilities for the same are mushrooming in most parts of the world. Given that illegal betting and gambling are rampant in India, the Indian government might do well to legalise it and help allow the casino golf courses take off and blossom in the country.

(The writer is president and CEO, Tiger Sports Marketing, New Delhi)