In golf, the loudest people are rarely the most important ones.

There are no roaring crowds for referees, no highlight reels, no trophies lifted at the end of the day. And yet, without them, the game quietly falls apart. Somewhere between the first tee and the final putt, someone has to make sure the game stays honest.

For over a decade now, Prantor Baruah has been one of those people.

But this wasn’t some grand plan.

It started with something much simpler, something almost instinctive.

“When I started playing golf in 1996, what I saw some players doing things that didn’t seem right to me,” he says. “In any sport, if you hit a bad shot, you face the consequence, but here, I would often see players improving their lie in the rough or even in the jungle. It didn’t feel right.”

That quiet discomfort did something most people wouldn’t expect—it pulled him into the rulebook. Not casually, not out of obligation, but with genuine curiosity. Within three months of picking up the game, he was already deep into understanding its rules.

And from there, things just… kept going.

By 2015, he decided to test himself, appearing for the Rules examinations conducted by the R&A, Scotland, the world’s rules governing body, together with the USGA, in collaboration with the Indian Golf Union. He cleared multiple levels in one go. A year later, he was in Japan, earning his certification as an International Rules Official and Tournament Administrator. In the years that followed, he would go on to become the first from North-East India to achieve TARS Level 3 certification, marking a significant milestone not just for himself, but for the region.

Still, even then, he wasn’t chasing a career.

“I never thought of it as a career option,” he says. “I was just following my passion. I didn’t even know what the remuneration was like.”

Which makes what came next even more real.

He walked away from a stable job in the tea industry three years before retirement. No dramatic leap of faith, no heroic speech. Just a quiet decision, backed by the people who mattered most.

“My wife and daughter supported me completely,” he says. “My wife even told me her salary would be enough to run the house, and I should go ahead and quit.”

There’s something powerful in that kind of support. It doesn’t shout—but it carries weight.

That calm presence on the course is something others have noticed, too.

“Prantor Baruah is a level-headed referee. His passion for rules and its applications has no bounds, and this is very evident on the course,” says Sampath Chari, a legendary figure with almost 1000 tournaments under his belt and presently the Tournament Director of PGTI. “His analysis of rules situations is very precise, and the presence of big players has no bearing on him… a referee who is always willing to help. A big blessing to Indian golf”, Mr. Chari further added.

That doesn’t mean the job is ever easy.

For a Rules Official, the job goes far beyond knowing the rulebook. It’s about handling people, situations, and moments where emotions can run high. And sometimes, that’s where things get tricky.

“Players’ outbursts—especially around pace-of-play—can be challenging.”

It’s a reminder that even in a sport known for its calm, pressure finds a way to show up.

To stay sharp, there’s no shortcut. “You have to keep yourself updated all the time,” he says. “Go back to the study material again and again. That’s the only way.”

Now also serving as a Tournament Director for the Indian Golf Union and WGAI, where players have mentioned that he has a very fatherly, caring presence, which makes the players and their families confident. In addition to his role as a Rules Official, his responsibilities have grown significantly.

Mr Baruah also serves as a Rules instructor in India, where he plays a vital role in educating young officials on the intricacies of the rules of the game. He conducts comprehensive rules seminars organised by the IGU and the R&A. Participants consistently commend his teaching style, noting that his explanations are exceptionally clear and precise, making complex rules easy to understand. Through his engaging seminars, Mr Baruah not only enhances the attendees’ knowledge of the rules but also promotes a deeper appreciation for the game itself.

That depth of understanding doesn’t stay in the classroom—it carries directly onto the course, where the responsibility is absolute.

“As Tournament Director, the buck stops with you,” he says plainly. “From course marking to rulings, everything becomes your responsibility. And if you don’t have good referees around you that you can rely on fully, it becomes even more demanding.”

And yet, he doesn’t sound burdened. Not even close.

“I enjoy what I do. After so many years, taking responsibility doesn’t feel like pressure.”

Maybe that comes from how clearly he sees his role—not as someone enforcing rules, but as someone helping the game flow the right way.

“A referee’s job is not to act like a policeman,” he says. “It’s to help the player take the best advantage of the rules.”

That line right there—that’s the job, stripped down to its core.

Some of the moments that stay with him aren’t controversial rulings or high-pressure calls. They’re quieter than that.

“When a player calls you over because they think they may have broken a rule, and they accept a penalty even when nobody else would have known… that gives me immense satisfaction.”

That’s golf at its purest. Not perfect swings, not clutch putts—but honesty when nobody’s watching.

And for those who have watched his journey closely, that integrity has always been visible.

“In all my years in golf, I have rarely come across someone with such extraordinary commitment,” says Shyam Sundar R, Director – Technical, Rules & Amateur Status, Indian Golf Union. “In 2015, he travelled over 3,200 kilometres—from Guwahati to Coimbatore—simply to attend a Level 1 Rules Seminar. I was deeply moved.”
“What struck me instantly was the unmistakable fire in his eyes—a quiet but unshakable determination… Today, he has become a true icon across the Northeastern states—a ‘sage of rules.’”

Over the years, the journey has changed him, too.

“You meet all kinds of people—you have to deal with senior officials, ground staff, players from everywhere,” he says. “It teaches you patience.”

It’s not a flashy lesson. But it sticks.

When asked about the future of officiating in India, Mr Baruah doesn’t sugar-coat it.

“As a full-time career, it’s not really viable right now,” he says. “Assignments aren’t guaranteed, and there are no salaried roles. Maybe that will change.”

It’s a grounded answer—honest, practical, and necessary.

Even when talking about rules, he keeps things simple.

“Given a chance, I would like to change the procedure of dropping from the knee height,” he says. “It looks awkward, and people often get it wrong. I’d rather have players stand straight with arms dropping naturally and then release the ball.”

And technology replacing referees?

“I don’t see that happening. But you never know.”

For now, though, golf still depends on people like him.

Because, unlike sports where one ball holds everyone’s attention, golf is different. Multiple balls, multiple situations, spread across a course. No single pair of eyes can catch everything.

Which is why the game leans so heavily on something deeper—trust.

And for more than ten years now, Prantor Baruah has been quietly protecting that trust. Not loudly. Not visibly. But consistently.

Today, he continues to officiate at the highest levels of the game, including tournaments on the DP World Tour and the Hero Indian Open, a space that once felt intimidating but now feels like second nature.

“Yes, it can be intimidating when you’re dealing with world-famous players,” he says. “But with experience, you gain confidence, and after a point, it just becomes part of the job.”

And in a game like golf, that might just be the most important job of all.