'Leave your home course at home' because there are some amazing (and challenging) golf courses you will discover in the subcontinent. Of international standards and designed by names that include Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Nick Faldo, Phil Ryan and Greg Norman, many of them are championship venues in breath-taking locales. Part of a colonial heritage, it is interesting that the Royal Calcutta Golf Club was established in 1829, the oldest golf course in the world outside of Great Britain. It was meant exclusively for the use of gentlemen, and ladies were very reluctantly admitted in 1886. In 1911, King George V and Queen Mary conferred upon it the title of 'Royal' to commemorate their visit to Calcutta. Golf began as an elite sport in India, and still continues to be. While Polo (both horse polo and elephant polo) was the sport of the royals, a modern royalty is playing more golf. A growing number of professionals play the India tour and some of the international tours as well. A golf trip to India isn't just about golf. Each city you travel to brings with it a unique club culture, fine dining experiences, the heritage of India, and the warmth and hospitality of its people.
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At 7,347 yards, the Jaypee Greens 18-hole Golf Course and Resort, designed by Greg Norman, is India's longest golf course. Situated on the fringes of Delhi, it has lush rolling greens, 14 water bodies and 88 bunkers, reminiscent of classic Melbourne Sandbelt courses. Jaypee is a popular course with club players and professionals alike and often hosts tournaments. The club house has excellent facilities that add to the joy of playing here.
In 1944, a young Maharani – the Rajmata Gayatri Devi – commissioned a golf course on the grounds of the Rambagh Palace, while it was still a royal home and not converted into a heritage hotel. The 18-hole course at the Rambagh Golf Club is comparable to some of the best championship courses in India and is part of the professional tour circuit. The course overlooks the Moti Doongri Palace and the Nahargarh Fort. The fairway paves its way through the Rambagh Polo Grounds, which have witnessed some of the greatest Polo matches during the time of Sawai Man Singh.
Ready to take your sport to the next level? Oh, we do mean literally. The 18-hole Ooty Golf Course is set at an altitude of 7,200 feet and extends over 193.56 acres. Established in 1891 by Colonel Fane Sewell, it became a part of the Gymkhana Club that came up 5 years later. The rolling landscape means that nine holes of the 18 are shot blind, greens are not visible from the tee and guideposts direct the players. Hole 5 is 200 feet above hole 4 and is about the toughest on the course. The fairways are lush and the course follows soft contours of downland surrounded by thickly wooded copses of eucalyptus, oak, rhododendron and fir in the hollows.