CALCUTTA
Like
that of British rule, the first impact of golf in India was felt
in Calcutta. The Royal
Calcutta Golf Club, established in 1829, is not only the oldest golf club
in India but the oldest in the world outside Great Britain. Originally located
near the Calcutta airport, the club moved to the Maidan and finally to its
present location at Tollygunqe in 1910. Meant exclusively for the use of
gentlemen, ladies were very reluctantly admitted to the club in 1886, when
the committee voted 43 against 13 on the condition that female members be
allowed to use the course only in the mornings. In
1911 the club was honoured by King George V and Queen Mary, who conferred
on it the title of 'Royal' to commemorate their visit to Calcutta. Much
of the memorabilia connected with the history of the club is still preserved
in the club house. The country over which the Royal Calcutta course
is laid was originally paddy fields, and the course is consequently very
flat. Successive committees have built mounds and planted thousands of trees
and shrubs. But the Royal's conspicuous features are its strategically located
water tanks and natural water hazards. The most significant are the two
large tanks across the tenth fairway, a 457 yards, par four hole. From the
tee, the tiger line is over the first tank and must carry all of 230 yards.
The safer route to the right leaves a very long second shot over the second
tank, a good 100 yards wide, to a small undulating green wickedly trapped
all around. The out-of-bounds boundary wall dangerously hugs the entire
left flank of this hole. Greens at Royal are small by modern standards,
but undulations make them tricky, and there is a little nap. From the tee
the course looks deceptively easy, but its strength lies in its par fours,
and to score requires good long and medium irons. While Delhi lays a premium
on accurate driving, it is the second shot irons which pay off at Royal
Calcutta. The Royal Calcutta also has a Bowling Green section, founded
in the early 19th century. Here members can indulge in bowling their woods
along the grass in an attempt to get close to 'Jack', the little white ball
immortalised by Sir Francis Drake.
Just across the road from the Royal Calcutta is the Tollygunge Club. The extensive grounds of the club were originally an indigo plantation, laid out in 1781. In 1895, Sir William Cruikshank, a banker of repute and a keen sportsman, acquired the estate from Prince Ghulam Mohammad, the son of Tipu Sultan, and founded the Tollygunge. Besides maintaining an 18 hole golf course, the Tollygunge Club also pioneered equestrian sports, and steeple chasing and show jumping are still held annually at the club. The 100 acre club grounds boast an enviable collection of flowering trees and tropical plants which have bee brought from as far a field as Australia and South America. The foliage provides a home for a number of species of exotic birds. The par 71 course at Totlygunge is fairly easy to tackle but for the large number of water hazards. The fairways are lush green and wide, and the greens well maintained and easy to read. A particularly difficult hole is the 321 yards, par four fourteenth, also known as 'Hydrophobia'. The player has to cross over a large water tank, built by Prince Ghulam Mohammad and filled with water lilies, to approach the green on the other side. A miscalculated or over swung drive could easily land the ball in the tank or the out-of-bounds area. The dog legged seventh, also called 'Devil's Elbow', is 491 yards, par five over a large water body. No account of golf in Calcutta can be complete without a mention of the Calcutta Ladies Golf Club. The club is unique not only because of the fact that it has only women members, but that the club house is on wheels. In 1891, a group of ladies led by a Mrs. Peddler could no longer take the humiliation of not being allowed to play at will at the Royal and Tollygunge clubs. They approached the local authorities, who allowed them to lay a nine hole course on the maidan, provided they did not construct any permanent structures. The ingenuous ladies overcame this condition by constructing a club house on wheels which could be moved if the army authorities at Fort William so desired. The nine hole par 68 course now has a hundred members, and men can only play here as their guests.Whether it is the monumental architecture of the General Post Office you admire, or the Corinthian facade of Writers Building, there's enough in between to show you the monumental majesty of the city of Calcutta. In the heart of the city is Fort William, out of bounds for visitors, but it is surrounded by the Maidan all around where sports clubs flourish and where sporting Calcutta is at her best. In this expanse of green is the Victoria Memorial, the British Taj Mahal built in memory of Queen Victoria and now symbolic of the city's brief alliance with the British Raj.
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Golfing Notes |
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Last modified: 26/02/2004