In
India you can play golf almost anywhere, for this outdoors sport
is widely played by a cross-section of people to the country's often-dramatic
background. In the hills and high Himalayan fastness, in metropolitan
cities and in small towns, by lakes and forests, or surrounded by
tea estates, out in the desert and in old British cantonments...
the flavor of India is visible everywhere that golf in the country
is played.
India was the first
country outside of Great Britain to take up the game of golf.
The Royal Calcutta Golf Club, established in 1829, is the oldest
golf club in India, and the first outside Great Britain. With
the growing influence of the British in the Indian empire, the
eighteenth century saw a mushrooming of new golf clubs in India.
Wherever land was available and grass grew, golf found a new HOME.
The founding of the
Royal Calcutta Golf Club in 1829 was followed by the nowdefunct
Royal Bombay Golf Club in 1842 and the Bangalore Golf Club in
1876.The Shillong Golf Club incorporated a golf course in 1886.
Golf had already been
played in India for 59 years before the first major course was
opened in the USA and Europe in 1888. By the end of the 19th century,
India already had a dozen golf clubs.
What makes golfing
in India exciting is the diversity of its courses. Not only does
it have the oldest golf club in the world outside Great Britain,
but also the highest, at Gulmarg (altitude 2,700 metres) in Kashmir.
There are golf courses in the mountains, plains, and deserts and
at beach resorts. The environment of each course is unique in
its culture and history, highlighting all that makes India a diverse
destination. In fact, it would not be wrong to say that one of
the best ways to experience India is through its golf courses.
Most of India's courses are well connected by road, rail, and
air, and have excellent accommodation facilities. Till the 50s,
golf clubs in India were affiliated to the Royal Calcutta Golf
Club, which followed the rules of St. Andrews in Scotland. In
December 1955, a group of golfers got together to form the Indian
Golf Union as the controlling body for the game.
The Indian Golf Union
is now affiliated to the World Amateur Golf Council, and has done
a great deal to promote golfing in the country. In 1957, it started
its first training camp at the Royal in Calcutta, where assistant
professionals and caddies were brought from all over the country
and trained to teach golf.
The year 1958 is a
landmark in the history of Indian Championship was moved away
from the Royal Calcutta Golf Club to be played alternately at
Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta. The most important annual event in
the calendar of the Indian Golf Union is the India Open Golf Championship,
which was first played in Delhi in 1964, and won by the Australian
golfer, Peter Thompson.
Golfing in India has
come a long way, and a large number of Indian players now compete
on the international circuit. Golf enthusiasts continue to grow
in numbers, and new courses are added almost every year. And what
could be a better feather in India's golfing cap than the fact
that Delhi was chosen to host the first ever golf competition
for the Asian Games in 1982.
