How former banking executive Raj Narayan is turning golf into Australia’s most powerful networking tool.
On any given weekday at high-end courses like Royal Melbourne, Sydney’s Elanora Country Club or Victoria’s ultra-private Cathedral Lodge, you might assume the players striding down the first fairway are there for birdies and bragging rights.
Look closer. The real currency being exchanged isn’t Stableford points. It’s trust, introductions and, in many cases, landmark deals. And increasingly, it’s happening under the banner of Emajin Golf, the corporate networking group founded by former banking executive Raj Narayan.
“We came up with the idea of connecting golf and business,” Narayan says. “If you look at our model, there are three pillars – access, learn and grow.”
It sounds simple. In reality, it’s a meticulously engineered ecosystem – one that has quietly expanded across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and now Western Australia, with potential international locations in its sights.
Emajin provides their members with access to some the world’s best golf courses and experiences, as well as, learning from senior keynote presenters such as listed CEOs, Olympic gold medallists, scientists and sporting/media personalities. All while building highly curated business connections organised through their connection system.
Narayan is quick to clarify what Emajin Golf is not. “We are a business networking group. We’re not a tee-time platform.” That distinction underpins everything.
The focus, Narayan says, has always been on delivering genuine commercial value rather than simply organising golf days. But this isn’t social golf.
“About 95 percent of our members join to do business with one another on the golf course. They don’t join to just play golf.”
And the results back it up. Emajin Golf currently boasts an 84 percent retention rate – a figure most subscription businesses would kill for. Even more striking is what Narayan calls the “retention plus upgrade” number: 170 percent. Come again?
“Renewal means they choose to sign up again. Upgrading means they were delighted,” she adds. “It’s a reflection of our members not only staying with us, but in many cases, choosing to participate more deeply as the connections they form, turn into meaningful business outcomes.”
Central to Emajin’s appeal is a curated introduction system Narayan calls “Fairway Networking System”, that has evolved well beyond informal mingling.
“We have what we call a match guarantee,” Narayan says. “When a member comes to their first event, they’re going to get 10 curated introductions – three in their playing group, seven at the networking lunch. If you don’t meet 10 people, then your next event is on us, and we’ll work with you until you have 10 meaningful connections.”
Behind the scenes, Emajin now runs an AI-based matching platform that pairs members based on size, scale and industry. What began as Narayan orchestrating introductions has become a systemised process across all cities. But technology is only part of the equation.
“People may join to play golf, people may join to hear from senior keynote presenters,” she says, “but they stay because they become part of something bigger. At the end of the day, the value of the community, is the community itself.”
And that community has developed its own network effect. Members introduce one another to clients, suppliers and even private golf club access. Narayan recalls a recent example of a member inviting another member to play at the coveted Tara Iti because of the connection and business relationship they had built. That generosity, she believes, stems from repeated interaction.
“Business happens through trust. And you build the trust by ongoing interactions.”
Could Emajin exist around tennis? Padel? Lunches alone? Narayan doesn’t think so: “Golf is one of those sports where you’re walking next to each other for four-and-a-half hours, talking to each other. That extended, unforced conversation reveals far more than a 30-minute coffee ever could.”
There is another ingredient: discipline. Narayan has also been deliberate about who Emajin is for – and just as importantly, what it is not. The focus has remained firmly on business owners and decision-makers who value long-term relationships over transactional networking.
“I always think that the value of any business is what you say no to,” she says.
Perhaps that clarity explains why a current Emajin Golf member – an IT provider – secured close to half a million dollars in contracts within months of upgrading to platinum membership, and why others have generated seven-figure revenue through introductions.
In the end, Emajin Golf isn’t selling golf. It’s creating proximity, access, learning and growth. And in a boom era for the game, Raj Narayan has found a way to turn the simple act of walking 18 holes into one of the most effective business meetings in Australia.
