Chip in with a proposal, drive long for a chat on the course and then putt the deal — a city that means business must have a yen for golf.

And on Saturday morning, Team Japan in Calcutta will mix business with birdie at Tollygunge Club, playing host to the first Indo-Japan Golf/ Business Exchange.

The friendly on the fairways will pit 24 Tolly members against 24 golfers from the Consulate of Japan in Calcutta, the Japanese Association and the Japanese Association of Commerce and Industry.

The objective of the debut tourney is to “strengthen economic ties between Japan and the state of West Bengal” using golf as the go-between.

“The state is fast becoming a major attraction for investments and more and more business activities are being generated every day,” Akhiro Oikawa, vice-consul-general, Japanese Consulate, told Metro on Friday.

“Golf is one game which binds all corporates across the globe and the sport has become synonymous with business. So we decided to have this one-day golf and business exchange,” he added.

Mitsubishi and Marubeni are two Japanese companies already operating in Bengal, with Taise Corporation poised to make an entry.

“Golf has become so important for the business bigwigs that they often clinch deals in the five to six hours they spend on the greens,” said Satish Kapur, captain of the Tolly Club golf team. “In Japan, more than 80 per cent of the men play golf... When we play together on Saturday, we will try and convey a lot of salient features of the state to the Japanese team.”

The importance of golf to the business prospects of Bengal has not been lost on the chief minister either.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee — presently engaged in a “cultural” battle to keep the Book Fair on the Maidan — has often spoken of the sporting potential of golf in driving business — especially from Japanese shores — to Bengal.

Two Novembers ago, he had even toured RCGC in a golf cart for a first look of the fairways and to gauge the business impact of golf.

At Tolly on Saturday, the golf-biz meet tee-off is at 7.30 am, with each participant getting to play one round and talk business.

Off the greens, Japanese delicacies will be served up.